Food or oil
Biofuel: Fuel such as methane produced from renewable biological resources such as plant biomass and treated municipal and industrial waste. Biofuels are considered neutral to the emission of carbon dioxide because the carbon dioxide given off by burning them is balanced by the carbon dioxide absorbed by the plants that are grown to produce them.
The Finance Minister of India, P Chidambaram, goes on the record saying that it is “outrageous” that developed countries are turning food crops into bio fuels. Chidambaram claims that the use of grown foods to provide transportation is an “uncaring” policy and should be strongly condemned. Mr. Chidambaram said developing economies were shouldering an “enormous burden” from the relentless rise in prices of food and commodities. Chidambaram claims that the prices of maize, rice and wheat have at least doubled between 2004 and 2008.
“It is a sign of the lopsided priorities of certain countries that they will resort to measures that will produce fuel at a cheaper cost in order to meet the transport requirements of a section of their population,” Mr. Chidambaram said.
Mr. Chidambaram has shined light on a topic oft ignored in popular media: world hunger. In the growing ecological awareness of developed countries, it is easy to become enthralled with breakthroughs like biofuels and ethanol. But, the use of food to create oil is more than selfish of the developed countries of the world. Oil has truly become the poster-child for greed.
“It has been estimated that nearly 20% of corn grown in the United States is diverted for producing bio-fuels. As citizens of one world, we ought to be concerned about the foolishness of growing food and converting it into fuel,” said, Mr. Chidambaram.
Mr. Chidambaram also said the rise in oil prices from about $30 a barrel in 2004 to above $100 in 2008 is another example of “greed overtaking the common good of the world”. While it seems to be a great scientific breakthrough it appears to be a blessing and a curse.
http://www.livemint.com/2008/03/26171014/India-blames-US-biofuel-policy.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7315308.stm
