GoodFuels

Not So Good Fuels?

Here at GoodFuels we like to keep the focus on the exciting events happening within the alternative fuels industry in the US and across the world.  In order to gain a more complete perspective, however, it’s important to provide some context and examples of other fuels that can be used for the purpose of comparison.

The New York Times brings us a couple of those examples this week.

In a piece by Clifford Krauss, the questions surrounding the use of Canadian tar sands to produce lower grade crude oil are becoming a larger part of the political discourse of our neighbors to the North.  As Mr. Krauss notes, “the country’s rapid expansion of oil sands development, a great emitter of greenhouse gases, has strangely escaped much political debate — even though it is a major reason why Canada cannot meet its Kyoto targets.

In a separate piece, Jad Mouawad of the NY Times notes the problems facing the development of oil shale, a process much like that used in the tar sands that superheats rock to extract oil.  Mr. Mouawad points out, “Critics also say shale production would emit four times more global warming pollution than producing conventional gasoline, and point to the environmental damage caused in Canada by producing oil from tar sands. The Natural Resources Defense Council calls it ‘the dirtiest fuel on the planet.’”

Thanks to the folks at the Times’ new blog, Green, Inc., for pulling these pieces together.