Second generation biofuels won't work either

Economist Indur Goklany, writing at the Cato Institute site, takes a long hard look at second generation biofuels - so-called cellulosic ethanol, which is going to replace fossil fuels without any of the unpleasant side effects (like mass starvation) associated with corn-based ethanol.

Farmers will do what they’ve always done: they’ll produce the necessary biomass that would be converted to ethanol more efficiently. In fact, they’ll start cultivating the cellulose as a crop (or crops). They have had 10,000 years of practice perfecting their techniques. They’ll use their usual bag of tricks to enhance the yields of the biomass in question: they’ll divert land and water to grow these brand new crops. They’ll fertilize with nitrogen and use pesticides. The Monsantos of the world — or their competitors, the start-ups — will develop new and genetically modified but improved seeds that will increase the farmer’s productivity and profits. And if cellulosic ethanol proves to be as profitable as its backers hope, farmers will divert even more land and water to producing the cellulose instead of food. All this means we’ll be more or less back to where we were. Food will once again be competing with fuel. And land and water will be diverted from the rest of nature to meet the human demand for fuel.

A bet you a large pint of the foaming stuff that this argument will be entirely ignored until the point that people start dying again.