Posted on 03/11/2007 8:03:06 AM PDT by thackney
WASHINGTON — America's drive for energy independence and clean air could threaten orangutans, Sumatran tigers, elephants, rhinoceroses and the world's largest butterflies. All could be hurt as the rainforests of Southeast Asia are cleared to produce palm oil for use in biodiesel.
It's the downside of the crash effort to rein in global warming.
And the owners of what will be the largest biodiesel plant in the nation — at a deepwater port on Washington state's coast — are well aware of the environmental consequences of logging and burning some of the most biologically diverse forests in the world to provide the prime ingredient for a much-in-demand clean fuel.
"We recognize there are serious deforestation issues," said John Plaza, the founder of Imperium Renewables, which is building the plant in the Port of Grays Harbor. "It's not OK to clear rainforest to put palm down. But to demonize an entire industry doesn't do anyone any good. We need to solve these issues."
Besides palm, the Grays Harbor plant will convert soy, canola and other feedstocks directly into biodiesel without blending it with any petroleum products.
Oil palm growers, processors, traders, users and several environmental groups have formed the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil, which is developing regulations to ensure an eco-friendly supply of palm oil. Imperium and other U.S. biodiesel manufacturers have joined the roundtable.
But some remain wary of the roundtable, and even Plaza is frustrated by how long it's taking to develop sustainable standards.
An earlier report prepared for Friends of the Earth, a member of the roundtable, found that the "actual on-the-ground impact of these private-sector initiatives remains negligible at present." The report went on to warn that the palm-oil industry may be incapable of self-regulation.
Efforts to police the palm industry...
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
I guess we're still all gonna die!
And dont forget the mud slides when that monsoon hits and there is no adequate plant matter to bind the soil.
Proving once again that the alternative fuel, global warming crowd are all about destroying the planet.
These people are all dummies.
THAT is why liberals should not be allowed to make decisions on any subject of import.
They are all socialists at heart, and think they can micromanage things from they economy to the environment.
They think they have ideas with good intentions, but they lack the intellectual rigor to actually think things through to the level they want to manage it at, and when it fails, they all wail "But we had good intentions!"
Also, don't forget that once the rainforest soils are depleted (in short order) there won't be enough organic matter in the soils to recover or to plant new palms. Thus, they'll have to move on to new hectares for their operations.
Exactly.
They are a danger to us and to themselves.
Right.
I would not give a hoot if it were just them and their families they were impacting, but the decisions they want control over affect my job, my finances, my lifestyle options and my control over my own life.
Well, I guess I would have to give a hoot, because they would want the rest of us to bail them and their families out after they completely mismanage them.
"Oh, wait! We never thought of that!"
Morons. It goes back to my post...these are the same dummies who think it would be a good idea to import some kind of fish from another country to eat all the algae clogging lakes in some area in the USA, then be completely surprised when the fish ends up destroying the ecosystem.
When that happens, you can never find one of them who thought it was a good idea in the first place. Kind of like looking for Nazis in postwar Germany.
They want all of the power to make choices for us, but none of the responsibility.
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