Invasive Species: Another Reason to Worry about Biofuels
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles 
on 05.21.08
A new report, entitled "A Risk Assessment of Invasive Alien Species Promoted for Biofuels," is calling on governments to carefully weigh the risks posed by biofuel crops that stand a chance of becoming invasive species against the perceived benefits. The report, authored by the Global Invasive Species Program (GISP), identifies all the crops being used or considered for future production and ranks them according to the likelihood of their becoming invasive.
According to GISP, the damage wrought by invasive species worldwide incurs yearly costs that top $1.4 trillion; the U.S. spends about $120 billion every year to control the populations of over 800 invasive species. Countries in Asia and Africa, in which so-called second generation biofuel crops are being introduced, lack the necessary resources to adequately contain invasive species.
A plant like Arundo donax (the giant reed), which has been proposed as a potential biofuel crop, is already invasive in many regions of North and Central America. Not only it is naturally flammable, but it also consumes large quantities fo water -- roughly 2,000 liters per standing meter of growth. Or take oil palm, for example: The African species, which has been recommended for use as a source of biodiesel, has spread like wildfire in certain parts of Brazil -- turning diverse forest habitats into homogeneous fields of palms.
While the report isn't intended to discourage all biofuel production, it is meant to serve as a useful reference for policymakers and businesses considering their use. It lists the following as potential risk-mitigating strategies:
* Risk assessments - use of formal risk assessment protocols to evaluate the risk of invasion
* Benefit/cost analysis - presenting business plans that can show real benefits before funds are made available
* Selection of native/low-risk species - creation of incentives for the use of species that pose the lowest risk
* Risk management - includes monitoring and contingency planning, such as control measures when an outbreak occurs
Image courtesy of furryscaly via flickr
See also: ::The Latest Threat to Tropical Rainforests is... More Trees, ::Biofuel Comparison Chart: The "Good," the Bad and the (Really Ugly)
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Does anyone know if jatropha is considered an invasive species? I've always wondered, since the growing profile fits perfectly: poor soils, all conditions, little water needed, etc. Thanks!
Zoe,
Invasiveness also depends on location (e.g. Spartina is an invasive in Washington state, but is often welcome in wetland restoration projects in NJ) and competition with other species.
You can get more information on specific species, and whether they are invasive, from several online databases. There's a list here: http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/databases.shtml
This is a question for the smarties out there- how about the tons of leaves that we haul off to landfills or compost piles- any use as a bio fuel? Too difficult to break down?
Zoe, the NY Times mentions Zatropha specifically at the very end of its article on the subject: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/science/earth/21biofuels.html?th&emc=th
Leaves as bio-fuel: throw them in the incinerator.
Oil palms do not spread, they must be planted. Also highest yield oil/acre. Oh wait, we hate those because they are too good and people chop down forests to grow it. BAD palm oil!
Jocelyn, thanks for the responses--esp the NY Times article!
Why not focus on using existing invasives as fuel stock? As cellulosic ethanol production becomes viable, kudzu would be a prime candidate. You could harvest it from the roadside throughout much of the southeastern US during the warmer months of the year.
I live in Chicago and I've been trying to get people interested in harvesting Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), Common Reed (Phragmites), Cattails (Typha), and Kudzu from natural areas/farms/unused land for a long time, and for various uses. Biofuel would be first on the list for Phragmites and Kudzu (though it's not in my area). Buckthorn has the potential to be used for some sort of lumber, though it would probably be best in laminates, as it tends to be small (it's technically a shrub).
I emailed the guys from StrawJet not too long ago, but they never got back to me. I suggested using Prhagmites and Typha.
Their website is http://www.strawjet.com/
Has anyone heard anything recently about revisiting "Hemp for Victory"? I remember gushing non-stop years ago about the potential for biofuels after reading "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" by Jack Herer, one of the early pro-hemp (and pro-medicinal-pot) tomes, and how Henry Ford had pioneered biomass (apparently his first cars' dashboards were even made from hemp)... For those who haven't read it, the theory goes that newspaper magnate Hearst and Harry Anslinger (head of what was then the equivalent of the DEA) deliberately demonized hemp to effectively kill off competition to the pulp & paper industry (among other early pro-corporate shenanigans)...
I still say hemp is the way to go - unfortunately it'll never happen so long as the U.S. insists on fighting their ill-conceived "war on drugs", and taking the rest of us down with them... Industrial hemp was actually re-legalized in Canada about 10 years ago but there is no manufacturing infrastructure left, so the few farmers who were granted legal permits to grow it get stuck with a crop they can't do much of anything with... Big Sigh...
You can read the whole book online, by the way:
http://www.jackherer.com/chapters.html
Green Kayak- I feel the same way. Just think of all the grass clippings that rot away on your lawn. Communities could collect those and sell them to processing plants. People could get rid of the clippings and communities could earn extra revenue.
There are people working on biofuels from leaves and lawn clippings unfortunately the two easiest options are closed by regulation. Back yard methanol is banned because its a toxic alcohol. A sealed plant that stores only a few hours of methanol in a tamper-proof tank and turns it to electricity on demand would be powerful.
Biogas i.e. Methane via anaerobic digestion is legal in most countries but jury rigs are normally illegal. No-one is mass producing a small plant. A plastic water tank company could do it easily. The gas produced is methane plus CO2. Take out the CO2 and you have natural gas, compress and you have LNG. Removing the CO2 requires a zeolite which also needs to be made cheaper and mass produced.
There are people working on biofuels from leaves and lawn clippings unfortunately the two easiest options are closed by regulation. Back yard methanol is banned because its a toxic alcohol. A sealed plant that stores only a few hours of methanol in a tamper-proof tank and turns it to electricity on demand would be powerful.
Biogas i.e. Methane via anaerobic digestion is legal in most countries but jury rigs are normally illegal. No-one is mass producing a small plant. A plastic water tank company could do it easily. The gas produced is methane plus CO2. Take out the CO2 and you have natural gas, compress and you have LNG. Removing the CO2 requires a zeolite which also needs to be made cheaper and mass produced.
lyn,
the book "Conversations with God" by Neale Donald Walsh also talks extensively about the positive uses of Hemp
I compiled a list of potential bio-fuel species and linked each species to USDA ARS GRIN and to the Global Compendium of Weeds. I am interested in adding any species that I may have missed.
http://ipetrus.blogspot.com/2007/10/biofuel-species-listing-traits-of.html