USA: Research on Biofuels Suffering from Gaps, says EPA
|
|
|
|
Monday, 23 January 2012 |
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has warned that significant knowledge gaps on the impact of biofuels is preventing informed policy decisions. After reviewing a decade's worth of research on biofuels, EPA scientists said that little research has been undertaken on the impact of biofuels on biodiversity and human health.
“The last 10 years or so of research may have left us short of understanding what biofuels really may do to global economies, the environment, and society,” said EPA ecologist Caroline Ridley who, along with her colleagues, analysed over 1,600 pieces of research on biofuels between 2000 and 2009. The team found that fuel production, feedstock production and greenhouse gas emissions attracted the most academic attention, with several hundred papers each, but only 80 studies examined the impact of biofuel production on biodiversity. A mere 15 studies examined the impact of biofuel use on human health.
The EPA also found a disproportionate amount of research on the environmental impact of biofuels in the Northern Hemisphere, despite the fact that feedstock crops are heavily grown in the Southern Hemisphere.
PetrolWorld 23012012
|
