The Oil Drum

167 comments on Report: Brazilian Ethanol is Sustainable

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

Nate Hagens on October 11, 2006 - 12:55pm

This is one of the areas of net energy analysis that needs to be expanded upon. We live in an interconnected world where it is increasingly difficult to parse everything into one common denominator. Society has attempted to do this using a global monetary system, but its proving difficult to put proper dollar values on air, water, ecosystem services, etc. Would you rather a new $50,000 mercedes or clean air to breathe for the next 10 minutes?

Net energy analysis in my opinion, will be critical in the coming transition from fossil fuels to renewables (irrespective if there ends up being 10 billion people or 1 billion). But to parse everything into energy terms is not paying attention to systems analysis. We need to consider the impact on land, on labor, on soil, etc as well as energy. We still dont have a mechanism to synthesize and compare all these things. EROI is one measure. Dollars are another. We need something better.

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

BartB on October 12, 2006 - 2:59am

Nate,

Look at the scientific work of H.T. Odum on emergy. Emergy provides a accounting system for the work of nature and humans.

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

Nate Hagens on October 12, 2006 - 11:16pm

I should have written 'we still dont have a system other than Odums eMergy' for assimilating all inputs other than energy

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

Robert Rapier on October 13, 2006 - 12:11am

In fact, the criticism of the paper with the lower EROEI, in addition to having the diesel input wrong, was that it represented emergy, and not energy.