25x25 Responds to Attack on Ethanol's Climate Benefits

The National 25x'25 Steering Committee has issued a response to widespread media coverage of studies published by Science magazine last week. While the studies address the potential for increased climate change brought on by the improper use of sensitive lands for the purposes of producing biofuel feedstocks, the 25x'25 response notes that the coverage fails to recognize the significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that can be realized from second generation biofuels and feedstocks. The response, a formal statement being distributed to all 25x'25 partners and to the 25x'25 media list, says there are major shortcomings in the mainstream media coverage of the studies, and cites important points that need to be considered in subsequent discussions of this important and complex issue:

• Rapidly advancing technology is making existing cropland even more productive, negating need to encroach on sensitive lands.
• Current biofuels serve as the foundation as research continues to develop a new generation of renewable fuels that will minimize land-use changes and improve the environment.
• While it is important to examine changes in land-use, it is a complex issue that involves other factors, such as urban sprawl, that contribute to stress on vulnerable areas.
• Biofuels are a much cleaner and more available alternative to a finite, rapidly depleting supply of fossil fuels.

A copy of the 25x'25 response to the Science studies media coverage can be found at www.25x25.org.

Contact: Ernie Shea, 25x'25 Project Coordinator, 410-252-7079/eshea@25x25.org.