new biofuel finding

the new york times today ran an article saying that the use of biofuels as an alternative to conventional petrochemical fuels actually worsens greenhouse gas emissions.

this is due to the fact that converting rainforest or scrubland to cropland where the biofuel materials are grown deprives the planet of natural "sponges" that can reduce carbon emissions. cropland absorbs less carbon. plus, burning and plowing contributes to greenhouse gases.

so... there goes my attraction to biofuel cars.

i learned from bruce hughes about a new car that runs on compressed air. the company, MDI based in luxembourg, that makes the miniCAT has a contract with tata motors, the ford of india. it should come onto the market in india later this year!

it just might be that these nonpolluting cars could come into the US market in the next few of years, selling for $5K or so.

and...they're very cute. cuter than a bug!

in my opinion, this is THE issue of our times--relearning how to live in harmony with our mother earth, which could easily shrug the human race off like a dog shakes off a flea. i don't want hannah to grow up and say, "what did you do about global warming, grandma?" i want her to connect with the earth and to respect it.