There are a number of solid scientific, and economic reasons to dislike Biofuels made from new growth vegetation.

Like this article, or this, or this.

My personal dislike of this particular subset of Biofuels leads me to an unusual agreement with an article in the New York Times:

Soaring food prices, driven in part by demand for ethanol made from corn, have helped slash the amount of food aid the government buys to its lowest level in a decade, possibly resulting in more hungry people around the world this year.

Most experts agree that Biofuels can only make up for about 15% of our Oil usage.  Balance that against the slow death by starvation of millions, who could be helped by that food.

But it gets worse. 

Renton Righelato from the World Land Trust and the lead scientist in the study, said: “It is a mistake in climate change terms to use biofuels. Most concerning is the trend to clear new land for biofuel crops. Clearing forests produces an immediate and disastrous release of carbon into the atmosphere, accompanied by a loss of habitats, wildlife and livelihoods.”

Forest soil stores between one quarter and a half of the carbon in the forest - and that too is released during clearing.

“Brazil, Paraguay, Indonesia among others have huge deforestation programmes to supply the world biofuel market”, says the study’s co-author Dominick Spracklen from Leeds University.

So, not only are we content to let people starve to death, to fill our gas tanks, but we are actively promoting the destruction of forest, and converting farmland, to increase the problem.

All so AL Gore and his ilk can feel “Green” and self satisfied while they jet around the world, telling the rest of us to use 1 sheet of toilet paper.

Gateway Pundit has been my main source of info and links on this ongoing example of the cruelty that man is capable of in the pursuit of power over his fellow man.

His latest post quotes Vaclav Havel:

In the coming days - perhaps even hours - the destiny of Burma (also known as Myanmar), and the fates of over 50 million Burmese, will be decided. Today’s crisis has been brewing for many years. But nobody knew with any precision just when open revolt against Burma’s military dictatorship would erupt.

I fear that, with only a few exceptions, most countries have been surprised and caught off guard - once again - by the rapid course that events have taken in Burma. So they seem to be completely unprepared for the crisis and thus at a loss as to what to do.

How many times and in how many places has this now happened? Worse, however, is the number of countries that find it convenient to avert their eyes and ears from the deathly silence with which this Asian country chooses to present itself to the outside world.

In Burma, the power of educated Buddhist monks - people who are unarmed and peace loving by their very nature - has risen up against the military regime. That monks are leading the protests is no great surprise to those who have taken a long-term interest in the situation in Burma.

An overwhelming number of Burma’s Buddhist monks have found it difficult to bear the central and regional governments’ efforts to corrupt their monastic orders, and to misuse the example of the monks’ self-restraint to increase the pressure on other believers. Of course, without universal and coordinated international political, economic, and media support for these brave monks, all development in Burma may quickly be put back nearly 20 years.

My disgust with the lack of action from the world community is without depth.  As I commented;

Havel gives voice to my own disgust with the world’s power structures.

Again, we see the slaughter and oppression of the people, while the world’s leaders and the United Nations wring their hands, and call for someone to “do something”. But these very same leaders fail to support anyone who actually DOES try to stop the oppression, and instead attack them for “imposing their values” on another sovereign nation.

The major excuse this time seems to be that Burma is in the Chinese sphere of influence, so it is up to the Chinese to “do something”. Of course, when one recalls the horror of Tienanmen Square, the likelyhood of that happening pales to insignifigance.

So sorry for the people of Burma. You are Buddhists, not Muslims, so the world doesn’t care. Your dictators do not have Nuclear Weapons or WMDs, so the world will not help you. Your nation is a small backwater in Asia, so your fate is left to the tender mercies of the Butchers in Beijing. Your oppressors are your own countrymen, not evil colonial Eurpoeans, so no one will come to your aid.

And the worst of all is the complete lack of shame our leaders feel, in failing to help our brothers and sisters in their hour of need.

The silence from the Left in this nation on this subject is truly deafening.

After a busy summer of relatives coming to visit; a catastrophic reorganization at work; a near frantic pace of business; all capped off by a well earned mini-vacation; I am back online, and will be spooling the blog back up.