Currently the world is facing higher food and energy prices, both of which are creating problems for the most vulnerable of the world’s people; those 2 billion plus living on $2 or less a day, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

Yes, higher energy cost, demand, and subsidies have driven up the cost for staples like corn, soybeans and rice.  Yes, a significant percentage of the corn and soybean crops are going into making ethanol and biodiesel.  And yes, some land across the globe has been converted or cleared to make way for bioenergy crops but none of this inevitable.

We need an ‘Apollo Program’ for energy that will begin to reverse the demand for foreign oil while fully recognizing the social and environmental impact of the current policies and begins to make choices that are good for people and the planet.

First among these is the acknowledgement that conservation is our quickest and most effective way to reduce dependence on imported oil.  Following that, support for research and development of so called 2nd Generation feedstock is critical if we want to reduce pressure on food.  Corn and soybeans represent 1st generation crops that are seen by many as overall energy losers.  And while if I’m being very charitable, some positive benefit is being derived from them in that the critical infrastructure to produce, transported, and use ethanol is being developed. 

It however, can’t be an end point but only a very short pause on the way to 2nd generation feed stocks such as jatropha curcas and miscanthus. They must in turn relieve the pressure on food while providing clear and undeniable energy and environmental benefits.

Kathleen Robbins, GreenMicrofinance Director of Clean Energy