Pond-life to salvage biofuel’s green credentials? 

Biofuel seems to be the great green hope of the transport industry, with fuel companies and car makers all eager to look eco-friendly. But not everyone is convinced that biofuel is best for the planet.

In this Guardian article, George Monbiot says that the rush to plant biofuel crops is leading to a loss of rainforest, and straining the world’s food resources. Meanwhile, the World Resources Institute says that land use change - clearing a site for biofuel growth, for example - accounts for nearly a fifth of all green house gases.

Some firms are talking about alternatives, though. Sensitive perhaps to the public perception of planes as carbon-belching, Boeing says that algae can fuel the world’s air fleet - proving itself useful for turning more than just a pond green. Promising though this sounds, Boeing says it would need land equivalent to the US state of Maryland, the Old Line State - we can’t imagine ‘the Algae State’ catching on.