Mike Grunwald, a veteran reporter and author of 'We Are Eating the Earth,' dives deep into the truths about bioenergy. He questions whether biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel truly offer carbon-neutral benefits, especially when it comes to land usage and deforestation. Grunwald shares insights from his global research, revealing that many bioenergy solutions have unintended consequences that undermine their environmental claims. The conversation also highlights the political dynamics influencing biofuel policies and challenges the narrative surrounding agricultural practices and climate change.
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Mike's Shift from Energy to Food
Mike Grunwald stumbled into researching food and climate issues through biofuels after writing about his green lifestyle choices.
A pivotal moment was learning from Tim Searchinger that meat production uses vastly more land than corn ethanol, impacting carbon emissions.
insights INSIGHT
Land Use Changes Ethanol Impact
Biofuels like ethanol use land that has an opportunity cost, which many early climate models ignored.
Accounting for indirect land use change shows ethanol may be worse for climate than gasoline.
insights INSIGHT
Early Biofuels Hype
Biofuels were initially hailed as the main green energy solution before solar and wind gained traction.
Early enthusiasm was driven by hopes for energy independence and benefits to American farmers.
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The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate
Michael Grunwald
In this book, Michael Grunwald delves into the critical issue of the global food system's impact on the environment and climate. He highlights how humanity's agricultural practices have led to significant land clearance, deforestation, and carbon emissions. Grunwald argues that despite the challenges, there are potential solutions such as adopting industrial farming methods, reducing food waste, and shifting towards more sustainable diets. The book chronicles the stories of scientists and entrepreneurs working on innovative solutions like genetically edited cattle and plant-based meat substitutes. It also emphasizes the need for better policy, technology, and behavioral changes to address the looming crisis of feeding a growing population without exacerbating climate change and biodiversity loss.
Various biofuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), and wood for power plants are labeled as renewable and carbon-neutral. But are they really?
If a farmer converts food-producing land to grow corn for ethanol, does that acre actually reduce carbon emissions? When trees are cut down to fire power plants, can we have confidence they’ll be replanted quickly enough to deserve the “renewable” label?
Our guest in today’s conversation has spent the past six years traveling around the world to research these questions, and he finds that the answer is nearly always ‘no.’
Mike Grunwald, a veteran reporter and author who was our guest on this show in Episode #1, nearly ten years ago, has published a new book sharing the results of his extensive research into the many approaches that have been tried to produce bioenergy, reduce agricultural carbon emissions, increase crop yields, and modify consumer diets. Titled We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate, it includes a comprehensive study of the bioenergy solutions that have been attempted and their unintended consequences.
This is a ‘must-listen’ episode for policymakers, investors, and anyone interested in bioenergy’s true role in climate solutions.
The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder 