綠色燃料的大謊言

Biofuels of Mass Deception

布希說乙醇（ethanol）將會拯救世界。不過經濟學家、科學家以及環保專家有證據顯示，生質燃料（biofuels）會給地球帶來新的麻煩。

George Bush claims that ethanol will save the world. Economists, scientists and environmental experts, however, have evidence showing that biofuels will do little more than cause new problems for the planet

巴西為了要栽種能夠產生乙醇的玉米、小麥、大麥、甘蔗、甜菜，除了會造成大規模的空氣與水污染之外，還加速亞馬遜與大西洋雨林的砍伐，還致使巴西唯一的平原國家公園，savannah 草原，遭受大規模的破壞。另外，大規模的單一植栽（monocultures）也導致整個生態系統遭受破壞，而且要收割這麼大規模的農作物，燃燒是不可避免的，這反而會造成更多空氣污染。

In Brazil, the mass cultivation of maize, wheat, barley, sugarcane and sugar beets for ethanol production has led not only to significant air and water pollution, but also has accelerated deforestation in the Amazon and Atlantic rainforests and resulted in extensive damage to the country’s only savannah national park. Meanwhile, widespread monocultures can destroy entire ecosystems and harvesting such vast plantings of crops inevitably involves burning, which aggravates the problem of air pollution.

實際的狀況是，許多生質燃料作物，例如玉米，都是在石化燃料幫助下長大。它們通常以肥料、殺蟲劑、以及農耕器具所使用的燃料存在。有項統計顯示，玉米在成為最終的生質燃料之前，需要用掉比它多上 30% 的能量。最後，還有農地的問題。如果乙醇要裝滿 4X4（四輪傳動）的油箱，其所需的作物量，足以餵飽一個人一整年。

In actual fact, many biofuel crops such as maize grow only with the help of fossil-fuel inputs in the form of fertilizers, pesticides and fuels for farm machinery. Figures show that by the time maize is converted into its final biofuel form, some 30% more energy has been consumed than the biofuel itself contains. Finally, there is the question of availability of agricultural land – in effect, the amount of crops needed to fill the tank of a 4*4 with ethanol just once is also enough to feed a person for a full year.

Vodka => potato

Rum => sugarcane

Gin => wheat, barley, juniper berry (杜松)

bule gold : water, wind

estuary 河口,河口灣 (river, bay, mouth, marsh)

gasohol => 80%~90% gasoline + 20%~10% alcohol

bales of straw/ hay 打包成一大捆

bushels               flail 連枷,用連枷打(穀類) leather, flap, cane

species 品種,動物的種類 

cultivar培育轉變而來之植物品種

stubble (作物收割後餘留的)殘株, 殘梗狀的東西;髮茬,鬚茬

damage 可fix, recover

ruin 無法repair, 要replace it