'Environmentally-friendly' biofuels are more

[Still Waters]

'Environmentally-friendly' biofuels have been found to be more harmful to the planet than normal fossil fuel.

A new government study shows that the Department of Transport's aim to increase the level of biofuel in fuel sold across Britain will result in millions of acres of forest being burned down and turned into plantations.

The findings of the study showed that using palm oil instead of fossil fuel increase emissions by 31 per cent, failing to meet the European Commission standard of each litre of biofuel reducing emissions by 35 per cent.

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[Space Commander Travis]

Of course, just as with oil (and even more absurdly, coal); whatever the carbon content of it may be, it's still produced on the other side of the world (regardless of whether or not it's of any benefit to the people who live there) and brought over great distances. I think the only possible long term answer is to use what can be produced locally and used locally; time to opt out of this ludicruous "global economy" that the politicians are always going about about having to "save". The only ones it's any benefit to are the ones pulling the strings behind the governments.

[Guest]

This stupidity was obvious from the very beginning. A kid could have done the calculations on the back of a fag packet in half an hour - so why didn't the experts ?

The adoption of Biofuels was just a con to avoid taking any serious action on the underlying issues.

Br Cornelius

[J.B.]

The serious issues being that economically we need to localize ourselves. No more of this silly, "A person can work in one country, live in another, and buy products from across the ocean" rubbish that started with the Cold War.

[MichaelW]

Maybe they didn't realise that basing it off diesel was worng in the first place? Petrol would have been much cleaner.

Localizing is a bit stupid these days. How else did you get your computer, keyboard and mouse? Where is your food grown? Overseas. And I don't think it will change.