Booming biofuels: not all biofuels are created equal.

Think globally, act locally. This mantra may soon become I saving grace of the small biofuels producers if they are to remain afloat. Make no mistake: Biofuels are booming Global fuel ethanol production more than doubled between 2000 and 2005, while production of biodiesel expanded nearly fourfold, according to a recent report from the Worldwatch Institute. However, as corporate players increase their production of biofuels at all costs, many of the original leaders in the biofuels movement are finding that the global market is not where they belong.

One difference that separates the biofuels industry from the fossil-fuels industry is its accessibility. At every step in the process, average, everyday people can partake in the production of clean, green alternatives to petroleum-based fuel. For many, this is the most attractive aspect of the biofuel movement: it is literally "power to the people." The realization of this idea through locally-based biofuels production may play a large role in the development of sustainable communities in our nation. Farmers can begin by setting aside a portion of their land for the cultivation of biofuels crops. These crops can then be combined with waste vegetable oil from neighboring restaurants and households to form a diversified feedstock. This feedstock can then be partitioned to produce a variety of biofuels at a locally based processing plant. Once these fuels are produced, they can be marketed and sold within the same community, effectively creating a closed-loop system.

This manner of production allows the community and the fuel producing body to remain mutually beneficial while creating a stronger, more diversified local economy ha the process. Small-scale biofuels production at the community level also promises to revive and sustain family farms and small-scale agriculture in our country through production schemas such as the one described above. Fanners can further expand their production options by contributing to the local biofuel market or by producing biofuel for personal and commercial use.

Perhaps more tantalizing is the prospect that farms and small-scale biofuel producers could effectively become community based power plants. By running generators off of the biofuels they produce, farms can produce their own clean, green electricity to be used onsite or to be distributed within their neighboring community. Imagine addressing your monthly power bill to your neighborhood farm!

While the prospect of farm-based power plants is enticing, the sobering news is that these farms will never be able to sell fuel, or food for that matter, as cheaply as their corporate counterparts In this respect, small-scale farmers share a lot in common with small-scale biofuels producers. Just as family farms are being priced out of the market by corporate agribusiness, small-scale biofuels producers are unable to compete head-to-head with corporately produced biofuels on a global scale.

Government tax breaks and subsidies coupled with extractive and unsustainable business practices have allowed these corporations to market large amounts of biofuel at unrealistically low prices in a short amount of time. However, what often goes unsaid is that the environmental benefits of using these cheap biofuels are easily offset by the unsustainable manner in which they are produced.

Currently, virgin rainforests in Malaysia are being sacrificed for palm oil plantations in order to meet the growing global demand for cheap biodiesel. In America, 85 percent of the biodiesel that is domestically produced comes from soybeans, an unsustainable crop that when grown at industrial rates averages only fifty gallons of vegetable oil per acre annually. The majority of soy is genetically engineered, a practice that many feel is also unsustainable.

Ethanol production in the United States doesn't fare much better. It takes three gallons of oil to produce four gallons of corn-based ethanol: a fuel that is less energy efficient than gasoline. By edging out diversified farming, large-scale corn mono-cropping could weaken local food security, requiring more long-distance transport of foods (already averaging roughly 1,800 miles per item)--thus more pollution from the trucks that haul foodstuffs.

These scenarios emphasize the need for more localized ethanol and biodiesel production in order to support small-scale farmers and avoid the ironies of cross-country shipping of renewable fuels. The expansion of the biofuels industry needs to be accompanied by a new generation of strict land-use laws so that small farmers and the environment aren't forsaken in the name of large-volume production and cheap energy'. Government subsidies and grant programs should also be reassessed so that small-scale biofuels producers aren't swallowed up by their corporate competitors. If we allow our desire for inexpensive fuel to overwhelm our environmental sensibilities, the biofuels industry may quickly come to resemble the petroleum industry both in its operation and ownership.

When biodiesel was twice the price of petroleum, many of its advocates were happy to be on the whacko fringe, preaching to audiences that found them intriguing and inspiring ... and perhaps a little nutty. Nowadays. the subject of biofuels has become commonplace, garnering mention in the State of the Union Address and routinely seen all over the web, in magazines and on the evening news.

Thanks to a number of impassioned individuals, our society is being given a second chance to develop a more sustainable fuel source for our future generations. There is no limit to what future provisions can be made in our society if more community-minded individuals continue to push the biofuels movement in a more sustainable direction.

The road towards a more sustainable community begins with the practice of conscious conservation.

Local Biodiesel Stations:

Asheville, NC: Blue Ridge Biofuels, Gas-Up/ www.blueridgebiofuels.com/405 Haywood Rd Asheville, HC 28806/828-253-1034

Athens, GA: Apex Express/205 Hawthorne Ave. Athens, GA 30605/ 706449-7535

Greenville, SC: Spinx 138 & 179/www.spinxco.com/ 1519 Whitehorse Road Greenville, SC 29605/864-277-6324 2901 N. Pleasantburg Drive / SR 291 Greenville, SC 29690 864-250-9892

There are several ways to get involved in the biofuels movement:

* Drive a biofuel-powered vehicle.

* Contact your local community-based biofuels producer to see if they offer volunteer positions or internships.

* Contact your local congressman and inform them of the importance of sustainably produced biofuels,

* Ride a bike, carpool or use public transportation whenever possible.

* Become actively involved in the production of biofuels by making your own. Guides can be found at journeytoforever. org/biodiesel_make.html and journeytoforever.org/ethanol_link. html#smallscale.

For more information about biofuels: www.biofuelreview.com, journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library.html and www.greencarcongress.com.

To find out more about the community-based biodiesel producer nearest you, go to www. biodiesel.org/buyingbiodiesel/ retailfuelingsites/default.shtm.

Curtiss P. Martin is a freelance journalist and volunteer at Blue Ridge Biofuels in Asheville, NC. He can be reached at 919-741-9508 or [e-mail].