75 percent of the nation’s rainforests have already been cut down by loggers wishing to exploit the opportunity to make huge profits feeding the insatiable worldwide demand for timber.

Many of the logging companies act illegally, aided by distributive corruption at every level of bureaucracy.

The area of destroyed rainforests is almost incomprehensibly huge — an area the size of 300 football pitches is destroyed every single hour, and an area of rainforest the size of the nation of Wales disappears every year.

However once the rainforest has been taken it is soon replaced by thousands of acres of palm oil trees which, once being used merely for the food and cosmetic industries, are now seen to be hugely profitable due to the growing global need for bio-fuels particularly in China, India and Europe.

The palm oil boom is built on the ruins of rainforests that will never return.

Put simply, Indonesia’s rainforests and the so-called “lungs of the world” are going up in smoke.

Duration : 0:4:42

Technorati Tags: bio-fuel, change, climate, deforestation, indonesia, oil, palm, peak

Difference between bio-fuels and fossil fuels
Bio-fuels are different from fossil fuels in the following ways:
• Fossil fuels take a million years to build whereas bio-fuels can be made extremely fast, in a matter of days.
• Fossil fuels generate huge amounts of pollution. Bio-fuels are comparatively safer.
• Bio-fuels are renewable sources of energy unlike fossil fuels.

Different types of bio-fuels
Bio-fuels have been categorized into four types: first generation, second generation, third generation, and fourth generation.

The first generation bio-fuels are derived from vegetable fats, starch, and sugar, which are in turn derived from food-crops. The first generation fuels are also derived from animal fats. Biogas, bio-diesel, and vegetable oil are some examples of this type of bio-fuels.

The second generation of bio-fuels is mainly derived from waste biomass, thus making it a more balanced option compared to the first-generation bio-fuels. Different kinds of alcohols and diesel generated from wood fall into the category of second generation bio-fuels.

The third generation comprises of bio-fuels derived from algae. Algae are farmed on large scales for creating these bio-fuels. The algae fuels are extremely environment-friendly as they can easily decompose into the soil without harming it.

The bio-fuels in the fourth generation are derived by a method in which micro-organisms are raised to work with carbon dioxide to generate fuel.

Advantages of bio-fuels
Bio-fuels prove advantageous in the following ways:
• Bio-fuels lessen the burden on gradually-vanishing fossil fuels.
• Bio-fuels are environment-friendly. They help reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
• Bio-fuels, especially, bio-diesel prove to be very cost-effective for consumers.

Disadvantages of bio-fuels
Bio-fuels are not bereft of criticism. Though beneficial for the environment, bio-fuels have its disadvantages, paradoxically in the environmental purview. Bio-fuels have received criticism for many reasons, a couple of which are stated below:
• Economists have long debated on the usefulness of first generation bio-fuels when compared to the lack of food they cause. Generating fuel from food crops makes food crops unworthy of human consumption. Some people believe that being a higher priority than fuel, food should not be farmed for making fuels but for human consumption.
• Making bio-fuels require acres of farming land, thus encroaching upon the natural habitat of plants and animals.

Make power at home with solar and wind energy to eliminate your power bill. Get our complete guide at www.earth4energy.com

Technorati Tags: alternative fuel, Windmill