1. The cultivation of second generation biofuels can require anywhere from 2 to 84 times the amount of water required to produce an equivalent amount of usable energy by way of fossil fuel usage.
![http://peakwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/resizer.php_.jpeg](http://sites.lafayette.edu/egrs352-sp15-biofuels/files/2015/05/water-energy-300x150.jpeg)
2. Though free of sulfur, second generation biofuels often emit nitrates, contributing to such environmental problems as acid rain.
3. In general, these biofuels contribute to an end product with a notably lower energy content than fossil fuels.
– Biodiesel has, on average, about 90% the energy content of petroleum diesel.
– Ethanol has, on average, about 50% the energy content compared to gasoline.
4. The total land area needed to produce enough second generation material stands as highly problematic. For instance, jatropha, a promising oil-seed crop, would require over 27 million square kilometers to supply the world’s energy demand. This area is larger than the U.S. and Russia combined.
![http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Russia_USA_Locator.svg/2000pxRussia_USA_Locator.svg.png](http://sites.lafayette.edu/egrs352-sp15-biofuels/files/2015/05/russia-usa-300x132.png)
In a scenario such as the one described above, the vast amount of land clearing needed to meet this spatial requirement would almost certainly set the combating of carbon emissions back a period measurable in centuries.
(Composed by Robert King, edited by Eli Karp)
References
Patterson, Bob. “Competing Global Resources: Food vs. Fuel.” North Carolina State University. PDF. Nov. 2011.
“Second Generation Biofuels.” N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.