MAIN ARTICLE:
The surge of
interest in biodiesels has highlighted a number of environmental effects
associated with its use. These potentially include reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions,[74] deforestation, pollution and the rate of biodegradation.
According to the
EPA's Renewable Fuel Standards Program Regulatory Impact Analysis, released in
February 2010, biodiesel from soy oil results, on average, in a 57% reduction
in greenhouse gases compared to fossil diesel, and biodiesel produced from
waste grease results in an 86% reduction. See chapter 2.6 of the EPA report for
more detailed information.
Food,
land and water vs. fuel
Main article:
Food vs fuel
In some poor
countries the rising price of vegetable oil is causing problems.[75][76] Some
propose that fuel only be made from non-edible vegetable oils such as camelina,
jatropha or seashore mallow[77] which can thrive on marginal agricultural land
where many trees and crops will not grow, or would produce only low yields.
Others argue
that the problem is more fundamental. Farmers may switch from producing food
crops to producing biofuel crops to make more money, even if the new crops are
not edible.[78][79] The law of supply and demand predicts that if fewer farmers
are producing food the price of food will rise. It may take some time, as
farmers can take some time to change which things they are growing, but
increasing demand for first generation biofuels is likely to result in price
increases for many kinds of food. Some have pointed out that there are poor
farmers and poor countries who are making more money because of the higher
price of vegetable oil.[80]
Biodiesel from
sea algae would not necessarily displace terrestrial land currently used for
food production and new algaculture jobs could be created.
Current research of biodiesel
There is ongoing
research into finding more suitable crops and improving oil yield. Using the
current yields, vast amounts of land and fresh water would be needed to produce
enough oil to completely replace fossil fuel usage. It would require twice the
land area of the US to be devoted to soybean production, or two-thirds to be
devoted to rapeseed production, to meet current US heating and transportation
needs.[citation needed]
Specially bred
mustard varieties can produce reasonably high oil yields and are very useful in
crop rotation with cereals, and have the added benefit that the meal leftover
after the oil has been pressed out can act as an effective and biodegradable
pesticide.[81]
The NFESC, with
Santa Barbara-based Biodiesel Industries is working to develop biodiesel
technologies for the US navy and military, one of the largest diesel fuel users
in the world.[82]
A group of Spanish developers working for a
company called Ecofasa announced a new biofuel made from trash. The fuel is
created from general urban waste which is treated by bacteria to produce fatty
acids, which can be used to make biodiesel.[83]