Will 'Energy Crops' Become the Next Kudzu?

The New York Times
By JESSICA LEBER of ClimateWire
Published: 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 yesterday.

For years, researchers have worked to develop "advanced" biofuel feeds from unconventional crops such as grasses and algae.

The goal is to enable a switch away from corn- and soy-based biofuel to cellulosic energy crops that don't compete on the food or feed market and have a smaller carbon footprint. A 2007 energy law, in fact, requires a total of 160 billion gallons of the plant-based cellulosic fuels by 2022 that these crops would produce.

Read the full story