Biomass energy is said to be eco-friendly energy. Plants are used to make biomass energy. Generally, plants exhaust only carbon dioxide which plants absorbed at the time of photosynthesis. Therefore carbon dioxide which is one of the causes of global warming does not increase. Fossil fuel is limited energy. If we use fossil fuel as it is, fossil fuel is used up. However, the biomass fuel can make it if we cultivate cereals. In my opinion, we should not use grains to make biomass energy. There are two reasons for the above. First, farmers cut down the forest to make farmland. Second, the biomass fuel competes with food.
The people cut down the forest because they needed a vast extent of land to cultivate cereals. Cereals are used to make biomass energy. According to an article entitled, "Shinrin hakai" on the Web site of the Plus Project, the demand for cereals increased and the price of cereals such as soybean and corn soared. Farmers tried to cultivated cereals in order to earn money. Especially, people cut down the forest and a tropical rain forest in the developing country such as Indonesia and Brazil, and movement to switch to the cultivated area of cereals advances. When we cut down the forest, a tree released carbon dioxide. It is thought that it causes the global warming.
When we make bio-energy with cereals, we will be suffering from a food shortage. According to an article entitled, "Sekai zinko no suii" on the Web site of Miyagiken, population increases steadily all over the world, and it is estimated that population will increase to approximately 9.1 billion in 2050. In contrast, it is difficult to increase the world cultivated areas. In the future, people will not eat enough food. Cereals such as corn are the staple food of many countries. The food may not be enough when we make bio-energy with cereals. Especially, it is expected in a developing country that food becomes insufficient.
I think we should not use cereals to make biomass energy. Deforestation will advance by farmland reclamation if we use cereals in order to make bioenergy. In addition, the food of people will not be enough. We must not do the environmental disruption to make eco-friendly energy. I think that the energy that is kind to a person is really gentle energy without giving environment load.
References
Sekai zinko no suii (n.d.) In Miyagiken Retrieved 0:55, February 12, 2013, from
"Shinrin hakai" –shinrin bassai no eikyo to taisaku - plus chikyu ondanka.
(n.d.) In Plus Project Retrieved 0:30, February 12, 2013, from http://www.plus-ondanka.net/a18_sinrin.html
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