The article lays out the various problems. Corn ethanol has a
much poorer energy balance than sugar cane ethanol, and it’s
driving up the price of corn “thereby making it harder for poor
families to put food on the table.” And “biodiesel plantations
of soy and palm are already encroaching on major carbon sinks
like the Amazon and tropical forests in Indonesia.” That trend,
if unchecked, will only make global warming worse. In addition,
“if farmed unsustainably, monocrop plantations of biofuel crops
could severely deplete soils, as well as contaminate water
supplies and aquatic environments with toxic chemicals and
synthetic fertilizers.” Finally, there are security concerns:
“Poor farmers have been massacred and driven off their land by
paramilitary groups in Columbia who are betting on huge profits
from cultivating palm oil for biodiesel.” So how to ensure
biofuels are sustainable? Establish rigorous criteria, as in a
Dutch report, “Sustainability of Brazilian bio-ethanol,” by the
Copernicus Institute. Here