Agrofuels Big Profits, Ruined Lives and Ecological Destruction

by Houtart, François; Wallerstein, Immanuel Maurice

• ISBN13: 9780745330129
• ISBN10: 0745330126
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-15
• Publisher: UCP

Summary

This book explores whether there is any place for agrofuels low-Carbon future.

Author Biography

Francois Houtart is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the Universite Catholique de Louvain. He was chief editor of the journal Social Compass from 1960 to 1999, and the editor of Alternatives Sud from 1994-2007. His previous books include The Globalisation of Resistance (with Samir Amin, 2002) and The Peasant as Actor (1982). He was the joint winner of the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Prize 2009 for the promotion of tolerance and non-violence.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Energy and Development	p. 1
Exploiting nature as a source of energy	p. 1
Energy in the development model	p. 5
Energy's role in the growth of capitalism	p. 7
The social and ecological effects of the capitalist development model	p. 12
The Twin Crises: Energy and Climate	p. 18
The energy crisis and non-renewable energy sources	p. 18
The climate crisis or global warming	p. 26
The Neoliberal Discourse on Climate Change	p. 56
First stage: denying or playing down climate change	p. 56
Second stage: promoting market-friendly solutions	p. 60
Problems with the neoliberal approach	p. 72
Agrofuels and Agroenergy	p. 75
Characteristics of agrofuels	p. 75
The different types of agroenergy	p. 77
Ethanol Production	p. 82
From Sugar Cane	p. 82
In Brazil	p. 82
In other countries of the South	p. 88
In the countries of the North	p. 89
Agrodiesel Production	p. 91
From Palm Oil	p. 91
Origins and characteristics	p. 91
Contemporary production	p. 92
Personal testimony from Colombia	p. 96
From Jatropha Curcas	p. 108
Origins and characteristics	p. 108
Contemporary production programmes in Asia and Africa	p. 109
Plants similar to Jatropha curcas	p. 113
The Collateral Effects of Agrofuels	p. 115
The ecological effects of agrofuels	p. 115
The social effects of agrofuels	p. 118
The Socio-economic Dimensions of Agroenergy	p. 122
The agricultural model underlying agrofuels	p. 122
Economic and financial issues of agrofuels	p. 129
Agrofuels and the food crisis	p. 136
Agrofuels and the reproduction of capital	p. 139
Agrofuels and the development model	p. 147
Alternative Ways of Solving the Climate and Energy Crises and the Role of Agrofuels	p. 152
Solutions envisaged and their limitations	p. 152
Post-capitalist logic of the economy and a new development model	p. 166
Glossary	p. 173
Notes	p. 178
Index	p. 185
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