Science magazine aftermath: respondents say new models forgot yield growth and distillers grains

February 18, 2008

In Washington, biofuels associations and academics continued to respond to Science magazine articles published last week that condemned US biofuel production efforts.

The Argonne National Laboratory’s Transportation Technology R&D Center, said that the Science article authors’ models did not factor in changing crop yields, which have been rising sharply in recent years. The Argonne study was not able to support the Science conclusion that US policies were responsible for price increases or land-use changes, since US exports of corn were flat in 2006-07.

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) said that increases in corn prices are not tied to land-use conversion in the United States. The Institute also indicated that it was unacceptable to stipulate that the only way to fight global warming through emission control is to require that African nations do not increase agricultural production in the face of food price riots,. Finally, the Institute said that the Science magazine article did not account for distillers grains, a major by-product of ethanol production that is used as cattle feed.

The complete supporting online material from the Searchinger study, including well-to-wheel emission tables can be downloaded (free) here.

Reaction from world press is linked below, most of it strong reading, usually condemning biofuels:

The Register
San Francisco Chronicle
World Changing
Wall Street Journal
Science
The Morning Call
TIME
National Post (Canada)
CTV
The Car Connection
The Nature Conservancy
New York Times
Los Angeles Times
Washington Post
25×25 response

More on the Science magazine controversy from Biofuels Digest:

Bad, bad biofuelsâ€, more Science magazine reaction, and downloads to complete underlying data

A group of scientists write to US President George Bush and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging them to revise US biofuels policies

Biofuels emissions authors say biofuels OK if made from waste, perennials, or abandoned land

93 percent increase in greenhouse gases? Renewable Fuel Association says fossil fuels created the â€œcarbon debt we can never repayâ€

Nature Conservancy study says converting land for biofuels increases net carbon usage

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Written by Jim Lane · Filed Under Producer News, Research