Dear friends across the EU,
Food crops are going up in smoke, trashing rainforests and driving mass starvation. The European Commission was set to announce a halt to this dangerous trend this Wednesday, but instead corporate lobbyists have all but convinced the EU to burn more food and we have only hours to stop them.
The European Commission has set targets for burning more and more biofuels in our cars each year. But its President Jose Manuel Barroso now realises they are a false climate solution and divert food crops away from millions of the world's hungry people. He wants to lower the targets and reduce the amount of biofuels in our petrol tanks. But one of the most powerful lobbies in Brussels is fighting back, and Barroso may be about to back down.
We have just 24 hours to have our say to ensure President Barroso calls a halt to the absurdity of burning biofuels! Click below to send an urgent direct message to Barroso's office calling on him to put food back in the bellies of starving children:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/eu_feed_kids_not_cars_b/?bwQkDab&v=18743
Every day almost a billion people go to bed hungry, many of them children. The causes include climate change, demand from a growing population, and diverting food crops to power cars. Freak weather this summer destroyed 28% of the US corn crop, roughly the same as the amount the US will use as fuel this year. We could replace the lost harvest with a stroke of a pen by ending the crazy biofuel policies that favour cars over kids.
Biofuels are supposed to replace regular oil, but are in fact a climate change con. When land clearance and fertiliser use are taken into account, biofuels produce more greenhouse gases than fossil fuels do. Newer types of biofuels made from crop wastes or wood also don't solve these problems as they would still require more land to be brought into cultivation.
The world's starving billion won't be represented in Brussels, but we can take their demand straight to decision makers. Together we can stiffen President Barroso's resolve to do the right thing and put food back where it belongs – in the bellies of starving children.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/eu_feed_kids_not_cars_b/?bwQkDab&v=18743
At times of disaster the Avaaz community has often made a difference such as after the Pakistan floods or the Haiti earthquake. Now it's time to come together to stop this slow burn human-induced tragedy.
With hope and determination,
Meredith, Alex, Alaphia, Aldine, Emma, Ricken and the whole Avaaz team
MORE INFORMATION
Industry seeks to weaken EU cap on crop-based fuels (Reuters)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/10/14/uk-eu-biofuels-idUKBRE89D0IN20121014
Must the poor go hungry just so the rich can drive? (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/13/poor-hungry-rich-drive-mo-farah-biofuels
Exclusive: EU to limit use of crop-based biofuels - draft law (Reuters)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/09/10/us-eu-biofuels-idUKBRE8890SJ20120910
UPDATE 2-EU Commission to cap food-based biofuels in major shift (Reuters)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/09/17/eu-biofuel-idUKL5E8KHA4120120917
The Drought and the Biofuels Disaster (Counter Punch)
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/08/15/the-drought-and-the-biofuels-disaster/
 Burning crops as biofuels trashes rainforests, drives climate change and fuels mass starvation. EU President Barroso was planning to lower EU targets for biofuel use, but a massive corporate lobby is fighting to retain this crazy policy. There are only 24 hours left -- click below to send a message urging Barroso to put food back in the bellies of starving children!  |
The European Commission has set targets for burning more and more biofuels in our cars each year. But its President Jose Manuel Barroso now realises they are a false climate solution and divert food crops away from millions of the world's hungry people. He wants to lower the targets and reduce the amount of biofuels in our petrol tanks. But one of the most powerful lobbies in Brussels is fighting back, and Barroso may be about to back down.
We have just 24 hours to have our say to ensure President Barroso calls a halt to the absurdity of burning biofuels! Click below to send an urgent direct message to Barroso's office calling on him to put food back in the bellies of starving children:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/eu_feed_kids_not_cars_b/?bwQkDab&v=18743
Every day almost a billion people go to bed hungry, many of them children. The causes include climate change, demand from a growing population, and diverting food crops to power cars. Freak weather this summer destroyed 28% of the US corn crop, roughly the same as the amount the US will use as fuel this year. We could replace the lost harvest with a stroke of a pen by ending the crazy biofuel policies that favour cars over kids.
Biofuels are supposed to replace regular oil, but are in fact a climate change con. When land clearance and fertiliser use are taken into account, biofuels produce more greenhouse gases than fossil fuels do. Newer types of biofuels made from crop wastes or wood also don't solve these problems as they would still require more land to be brought into cultivation.
The world's starving billion won't be represented in Brussels, but we can take their demand straight to decision makers. Together we can stiffen President Barroso's resolve to do the right thing and put food back where it belongs – in the bellies of starving children.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/eu_feed_kids_not_cars_b/?bwQkDab&v=18743
At times of disaster the Avaaz community has often made a difference such as after the Pakistan floods or the Haiti earthquake. Now it's time to come together to stop this slow burn human-induced tragedy.
With hope and determination,
Meredith, Alex, Alaphia, Aldine, Emma, Ricken and the whole Avaaz team
MORE INFORMATION
Industry seeks to weaken EU cap on crop-based fuels (Reuters)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/10/14/uk-eu-biofuels-idUKBRE89D0IN20121014
Must the poor go hungry just so the rich can drive? (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/13/poor-hungry-rich-drive-mo-farah-biofuels
Exclusive: EU to limit use of crop-based biofuels - draft law (Reuters)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/09/10/us-eu-biofuels-idUKBRE8890SJ20120910
UPDATE 2-EU Commission to cap food-based biofuels in major shift (Reuters)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/09/17/eu-biofuel-idUKL5E8KHA4120120917
The Drought and the Biofuels Disaster (Counter Punch)
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/08/15/the-drought-and-the-biofuels-disaster/
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