Blatant Reality

Yep, that’s right, researchers at the University of Georgia in Athens are looking into ways to convert trees into fuel. Why do they want to do this? Well, it seems that Georgia has a lot of trees.

Much of the UGA research aims to find ways to convert trees into fuel, however. With 24 million acres of trees in Georgia, more than any other states other than Alaska and Oregon, Georgia one day could become a major supplier of fuel for the nation’s cars and trucks, Adolphson said.

Now, since I am a conservative and thus I am supposed to be the big bad enemy of the environment, it would seem appropriate for me to not give a care about the trees. However, that’s not the case. One of the things that I enjoy when I visit Georgia is the fact that they have an abundance of trees. Atlanta has to be one of the greenest cities for its size which is due to the fact that builders seem to not clear cut a house lot but instead build around the preexisting trees.

Now if the researchers find a way to convert trees into fuel, will Georgia become a barren wasteland? Of course not, but just as in the case of getting ethanol from crops like corn, it gives an incentive for people to cut down trees. Could it potentially give people more incentives to care for the trees that they have because they will look at the trees on their land as assets? Possibly, but this will most likely not be the case for poorer nations where the clear cutting of forests is already prevalent.

I’m personally all for alternative energy as long as it is economically feasible (aka no massive subsidies) and doesn’t rely on using more agricultural land. At this point, the only biofuel that I am really excited about is Algae. It grows all year round, doesn’t need any freshwater, doesn’t take up agricultural land, and has the potential for enormous oil outputs. This, in my mind, should be our number one priority for research in the biofuel field.

And a final thought, what environmentalist will ever sign off on an alternative fuel that actually cuts down trees? Honestly, if they ever do that I will know for certain that they have completely lost their minds