Suchergebnisse

The production of biofuels is strongly supported all over the world as a renewable energy source for reducing dependence on the unstable oil market. Bioethanol, the main biofuel produced in the world, is widely used to power vehicles in both the USA and Brazil, but concerns exist in both places regarding its sustainability. In Brazil, it is produced from a by product of the sugar cane industry, while in the USA it is manufactured from food crops. The production of biogas and biodiesel is growing rapidly, but neither has outpaced the production of bioethanol. The European Union (EU) is greatly interested in this issue, and in 2011 adopted an extensive strategy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions related to transport by 60% by the year 2050. In order to achieve this result, the current European transportation system must be transformed. This ambitious goal will require the implementation of complex measures including the reduction of fossil fuels in favor of renewable fuels. This program has various options regarding the development of biofuels (e. g., biogas, bioethanol and biodiesel) and their related technologies, which are still on trial (mainly regarding the bioethanol production), and must also analyze their sustainability from a social and economic standpoint. The paper discusses the use of biofuels for transport in the European setting, and shows that their sustainability may result in relevant negative social effects due mainly to the use of land for energy crops (e.g., change of food price and world food shortage). ; A produção de biocombustíveis é fortemente reconhecida em todo o mundo como uma fonte de energia renovável para reduzir a dependência do mercado instável do petróleo. Bioetanol, o principal biocombustível produzido no mundo, é largamente utilizado para a mobilidade no Brasil, e também nos EUA, mas com diferenças de sustentabilidade, porque no Brasil ele é produzido a partir de um subproduto da indústria de cana-de-açúcar, enquanto nos EUA é fabricado com culturas alimentares. Biogás e biodiesel estão crescendo rapidamente, mesmo que em um nível muito menor do que o bioetanol. A União Europeia (UE) observa este assunto com grande interesse e, há dois anos, adoptou uma ampla estratégia para reduzir em 60% as emissões de dióxido de carbono no setor de transporte, até o ano 2050. A fim de alcançar esse resultado, será necessária a transformação do atual sistema europeu de transportes. A ambiciosa meta implicará em medidas complexas, incluindo a limitação do uso de combustíveis fósseis em favor de combustíveis renováveis. Este programa abre várias possibilidades de desenvolvimento dos biocombustíveis (ou seja, biogás, bioetanol e biodiesel). Para concretizar este avanço, é preciso se desenvolver tecnologias de nova geração em fase de experimentação (principalmente para a produção de bioetanol a partir de resíduos florestais), bem como a análise da sustentabilidade econômica e social desta nova fonte de combustível. Este artigo trata da utilização de biocombustíveis nos transportes no cenário europeu e mostra que a produção de biocombustíveis pode aumentar efeitos sociais negativos relevantes, principalmente ligados ao uso da terra para culturas energéticas em vez de alimentos com efeitos sobre o preço de mercado e da escassez mundial de alimentos. ; The production of biofuels is strongly supported all over the world as a renewable energy source for reducing dependence on the unstable oil market. Bioethanol, the main biofuel produced in the world, is widely used to power vehicles in both the USA and Brazil, but concerns exist in both places regarding its sustainability. In Brazil, it is produced from a by product of the sugar cane industry, while in the USA it is manufactured from food crops. The production of biogas and biodiesel is growing rapidly, but neither has outpaced the production of bioethanol. The European Union (EU) is greatly interested in this issue, and in 2011 adopted an extensive strategy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions related to transport by 60% by the year 2050. In order to achieve this result, the current European transportation system must be transformed. This ambitious goal will require the implementation of complex measures including the reduction of fossil fuels in favor of renewable fuels. This program has various options regarding the development of biofuels (e. g., biogas, bioethanol and biodiesel) and their related technologies, which are still on trial (mainly regarding the bioethanol production), and must also analyze their sustainability from a social and economic standpoint. The paper discusses the use of biofuels for transport in the European setting, and shows that their sustainability may result in relevant negative social effects due mainly to the use of land for energy crops (e.g., change of food price and world food shortage).

Glyphosate is a synthesis product and chemical substance that entered in the global market during the 70s. In the beginning, the molecule was used as an active principle in a wide range of herbicides, with great success. This was mainly due to its systemic and non-selective action against vegetable organisms and also to the spread of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) crops, which over the years were specifically created with a resistance to glyphosate. To date, the product is, for these reasons, the most sprayed and most used herbicide in the world. Because of its widespread diffusion into the environment, it was not long before glyphosate found itself at the center of an important scientific debate about its adverse effects on health and environment. In fact, in 2015 the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France), an organization referred to as the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization (WHO, Geneva, Switzerland), classified the substance as "likely carcinogenic" to humans. This triggered an immediate and negative reaction from the producer, who accused the Agency and claimed that they had failed to carry out their studies properly and that these conclusions were largely contradictory to published research. Additionally, in 2015, just a few months after the IARC monography published on glyphosate, the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority, Parma, Italy), another WHO related organization, declared that it was "unlikely" that the molecule could be carcinogenic to humans or that it could cause any type of risk to human health. The conflict between the two organizations of the World Health Organization triggered many doubts, and for this reason, a series of independent studies were launched to better understand what glyphosate's danger to humans and the environment really was. The results have brought to light how massive use of the herbicide has created over time a real global contamination that has not only affected the soil, surface and groundwater as well as the atmosphere, but even food and commonly used objects, such as diapers, medical gauze, and absorbent for female intimate hygiene. How human health is compromised as a result of glyphosate exposure is a topic that is still very debatable and still unclear and unambiguous. This paper is a review of the results of the main independent recent scientific studies.