An article published in the most recent issue of Science indicate the biofuels cause more carbon emissions than fossil fuels, when everything along the production cycle is taken into account. The article, “Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land Use Change,” (Subscription) specifically takes a look at land use conversion to create crops for biofuel.
“Using a worldwide agricultural model to estimate emissions from land use change, we found that corn-based ethanol, instead of producing a 20% savings, nearly doubles greenhouse emissions over 30 years and increases greenhouse gases for 167 years. Biofuels from switchgrass, if grown on U.S. corn lands, increase emissions by 50%”
