From the category of Oops!

Biofuel Crops That Require Destroying Native Ecosystems Worsens Global Warming

The carbon lost by converting rainforests, peatlands, savannas, or grasslands outweighs the carbon savings from biofuels. Such conversions for corn or sugarcane (ethanol), or palms or soybeans (biodiesel) release 17 to 420 times more carbon than the annual savings from replacing fossil fuels, the researchers said. The carbon, which is stored in the original plants and soil, is released as carbon dioxide, a process that may take decades. This "carbon debt" must be paid before the biofuels produced on the land can begin to lower greenhouse gas levels and ameliorate global warming

Doggone! And we were doing so well in our search for alternative fuels to cut CO2.

There’s a lesson here: A little thinking beforehand about human nature (or nature in general) can go a long way toward avoiding colossal mistakes. (A second lesson might be to never let politicians make science decisions.) Unfortunately, neither messianic proponents of the environmental movement nor government bodies around the globe are likely to learn from it.