Water, Water, Everywhere

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink ;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

(Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)

I posted about the extremely negative impact of the biofuel craze on rainforests and orangutans. You know, minor things like the complete destruction of the rainforests and genocide of the orangutans. I've also written about warnings - from bona fide experts - that food prices across the globe are very likely going to rise by 40-80% as a direct result of diversion of food into biofuel. Not enough to worry about yet? How about one more dire warning from still other experts: The rush to produce biofuels is very likely to cause diversion of precious water resources away from food production, making the looming crisis even worse.

Biofuels, which are made from crops, require huge amounts of water, a resource that is already in short supply in many parts of the world. Bioenergy could thus end up diverting water resources desperately needed for food crops.

"When governments and companies are discussing biofuel solutions, I think water issues are not addressed enough," Johan Kuylenstierna, director of the World Water Week conference, told AFP.

The annual gathering is being attended by some 2,500 water experts from around the world.

In the future "food production will need to increase, water consumption will increase dramatically in the agriculture sector and biofuels will increase. This doesn't add up for the water perspective," Kuylenstierna added.

"Where will the water to grow the food needed to feed a growing population come from if more and more water is diverted to crops for biofuels production?" asked Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) spokesman David Trouba.

According to SIWI, in 2050, the amount of additional water needed for bioenergy production will be equivalent to the amount required by the agricultural sector to feed the world properly.

"Biofuels are not 'the' solution, but one of the solutions," Kuylenstierna stressed.

Meanwhile Sunita Narain, the head of the Centre for Science and Environment in India and a prominent expert at the Stockholm conference, said biofuels were "good as an idea, bad in practice." (Emphasis added)

Wow. That should be carved in stone or something. As always, the headlong rush to "do something" leads to many unintended consequences. This one, however, could be a record-setter. Running short of food and water - not to mention rainforests and orangutans - to produce biofuels is looking less and less attractive every day.

Other Links to this Post

1. Blue Crab Boulevard » Lightning Strikes — Thursday, 16 August , 2007 @ 10:33 am

2. Blue Crab Boulevard » Let Them Eat Something Or Other — Tuesday, 4 September , 2007 @ 8:34 am