Can biofuels replace fossil energy fuels? A multi-scale integrated analysis based on the concept of societal and ecosystem metabolism : Part 1
Giampietro, Mario (Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca per gli Alimenti e la Nutrizione Via Ardeatina)
Mayumi, Kozo (The University of Tokushima)
Ramos Martín, Jesús (IFF Social Ecology)

Fecha:	2006
Resumen:	Many claim that biofuels represent a viable and desirable alternative to fossil energy fuels. This paper (the first of a series of two) provides a critical appraisal of the claim that a large scale move to biofuels is either feasible or desirable for powering the economy of a developed country. This conclusion is based on an integrated analysis of the performance of biofuels versus that of fossil energy fuels. The text is divided into 2 main sections. Section 1 provides a semantic framing of the issue. Two metaphors are used to explain why biomass energy was abandoned during the industrial revolution in the first place: (1) the Yin-Yang tension between recycling (to increase ecological compatibility) and linearization (to increase economic competitiveness) of the flows metabolized by society; (2) the energy sector of a society seen like the heart for the human body. An alternative heart, to be viable, must deliver the supply of blood which is expected by the rest of the body both in terms of quantity and quality. This section concludes that for a developed society not everything that can be burned should be considered as a desirable fuel and it provides a framework for such an evaluation.
Derechos:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Lengua:	Anglès
Documento:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Materia:	Biofuels ; Fossil energy ; Alternative energy ; Societal metabolism ; Multi-scale integrated ; Analysis ; Energy analysis ; MSIASEM ; Ecosystem metabolism
Publicado en:	International journal of transdisciplinary research, Vol. 1, Issue 1 (2006) , p. 51-87, ISSN 1559-8020

Adreça alternativa: https://ijtr.org/ijtr/article/view/5

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