Earth Equity News

Will Energy Crops Become the Next Kudzu? By Jessica Leber, ClimateWire, August 12, 2009. "U.S. policies are subsidizing new energy crops that are likely to spread off the farm and wreak economic and ecological havoc, a federal advisory board cautioned on August 11... Researchers are now selecting, breeding and engineering species that demand less water, fertilizer and agricultural land and grow year-round at high yields. But it is often exactly these traits, such as drought tolerance or pathogen resistance, that make the fuels of the future ripe to become invasive species and cause widespread damage. The issue highlights another potential complication in what has been a bumpy road in the development of the biofuels industry. 'Absent strategic mitigation efforts, there is substantial risk that some biofuel crops will escape cultivation and cause socio-economic and/or ecological harm,' the white paper, adopted by the Invasive Species Advisory Committee, warns."