Bio(food)fuel: Is it good or bad?

Many of us have been introduced to alternative fuels as well as  alternative sources of energy with the hopes of reducing our dependency on fossil fuels. Alternative sources of energy range from solar energy, windmills, watermills, nuclear energy, etc; while alternative fuels range from biodiesel/ biofuel, electricity, vegetable oil, etc. What we're concerned of now is the production of biofuels such as ethanol and whether or not such fuel production is ultimately great for our society or if our choice in producing biofuel will result in some sort of economical downfall.

To begin with, ethanol provides further purpose in crop production, so in turn a portion of crops and cropland is diverted from only focusing on human consumption but also on fuel production. This results in higher price which pushes the need for higher income. This, of course, will result in many more people suffering from hunger.

In short, I have this question for all those reading this entry: does global warming kill thousands and thousands of people worldwide or is it hunger that lends a hand in killing those who are financially unfortunate? We aim to go green but is it worth the loss of those whose only concern is trying to find food and water on a daily basis? Now I don't mean to say that we shouldn't appreciate the benefits of biofuel but we should at least take into consideration the moderation we need in order to produce fuel without significantly and negatively affecting the economy.

Posted in: Biofuel,Ken