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Biofuels might not be the answer…

Jul 23, 2017 | Insurance

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Biofuels might not be the answer we’re looking for when it comes to our carbon footprint…

We have all seen and heard the numerous discussions that have surrounded climate change, and our carbon footprint as a society. We have seen notable changes to the way things are powered – more homes now than ever have solar panels, wind farms are on most horizons now, you can even use food waste to power your car! How can this still be an issue? Well, according to recent research, biofuels may be doing more harm than good.

The idealistic view of it is great, kind of like the second Back to The Future where the bins get thrown into the fuel tank of the car. In reality, however, the processes in which biofuels are produced could be causing significant damage to the environment. This isn’t the only ‘green’ alternative that isn’t as good as it seems either, the process of creating solar panels is apparently a fairly toxic one with waste of its own, and wind farms are temperamental and require a lot of upkeep. The most controversial of the potential energy sources is in public opinion, nuclear. With the evidence already there from nuclear disasters in the past, there is a lot of public tension as to how reliable this is in the future, and how dangerous. Before you totally disregard nuclear power though, I recommend you watch an online documentary called ‘Pandora’s Secret’ (if you haven’t already). This documentary provides a much more balanced view of nuclear power, including the impact of nuclear waste, the safety of sites, and the radioactivity of sites of meltdowns versus the natural radiation of the planet. It doesn’t necessarily make you pro-Plutonium, but it certainly opened my eyes to the option. It is the main provider of power for France, and they produce so much that they actually sell it worldwide. France is also (according to Pandora’s Secret) the ‘greenest’ country on the planet.

Looking back towards biofuels, it was only a decade ago that it was seen as a great low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels and was seen as the future. Since 2007 (a decade!!) though certain concerns came forward about the financial and environmental costs or biofuels, and it became considered as much a pollutant as fossil fuels. So what is the next generation of biofuels? Because as it stands the standard biofuels – soya bean, rapeseed, sunflower etc. all produce the same emissions as diesel. The only to make a minor difference are palm oils, but the production of palm oil fuels is one of the most destructive processes to forests and surrounding environments – the homes of the native wildlife.

We know really that electric is the way forward for us when it comes to our transportation. So in my opinion the question here isn’t really how we are going to fuel our cars, planes, ships, trains etc, but rather how we are going to produce the electricity that will eventually be the only fuel necessary for these cars. It might be worth having a look at the French…

In the meantime, if you are looking at changing your energy provider to find a cheaper supplier, then we can help here at Mymoneycomparison.com. Try our Energy provider comparison to find the cheapest supplier in your area…

Gas and Electricity

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