Biofuel's unintended consequences.

In a world hungry for fuel, biofuels have caught on as a promising and environmentally friendly alternative to petroleum fuels. Biofuels have powered Brazil since the 1980s and the Bush administration is counting on them to replace the gasoline that the president hopes to save with his plan to reduce gas usage by 20 percent over the next 10 years. And in Europe, government subsidies have enticed energy firms to begin using "sustainable" biofuels. According to reports in the New York Times, however, one European country found out that biofuels can be much worse for the environment than traditional petroleum products.

In the Netherlands, palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia has become one of the most heavily used biofuels, with imports of the oil from both nations valued in billions of dollars. But a study by two organizations, Wetlands International and Delft Hydraulics, found that the palm-oil plantations in East Asia were environmental disasters. "It was shocking and totally smashed all the good reasons we initially went into palm oil," Wetlands spokesman Alex Kaat told the Times.

According to the Wetlands-Delft study, "The European Union implements all kind[s] of legislation for a large-scale use of biofuels. Export of palm oil to European countries is growing rapidly." To satisfy demand, heavily forested peat swamplands are being logged and drained in order to grow oil palms, the fruit of which is used as the source of the oil. The process often exacerbates the problem of wildfires. "These fires can last for weeks, sometimes even months, burning thick layers of peat over large areas," the Wetlands-Delft study notes. "The peat fires in South-east Asia can burn millions of hectares in one dry season and can last for weeks, sometimes even months, burning thick layers of peat and covering the region in thick smoke."

In the United States, biofuels are now based largely on corn, though cellulose sources like wood fiber may prove to be important biofuel sources in the future. But even with these, there may be unintended consequences. Already farmers are rushing to convert acreage to corn production at the expense of other crops. "There is a fierce battle for acres being fought among the major crops fueled by the run-away demand for corn by ethanol plants," reported agricultural news agency Cattlenetwork.com. The result is fewer acres for other crops. As a result, prices will rise, driven both by demand for corn and by reduced supply of other crops. And some farmers, after investing in planting more acres in corn, fear a downturn in the corn market. "Some producers have expressed concern that after luring them with tantalizing visions of historic profits, the corn market will collapse," Cattlenetwork.com reported.

No matter what happens with corn prices, biofuels will have a dramatic impact on agriculture in the United States. For up to the next five years, says agriculture analyst Joe Sowers of U.S. Wheat Associates, biofuels will be "the largest single factor to influence the U.S. agricultural landscape."