Agrofuels : big profits, ruined lives and ecological destruction / / François Houtart ; translated by Victoria Bawtree ; with the collaboration of Bosco Bashangwa Mpozi, Beinvenue Lutumba Bukassa and Geoffrey Geuens ; foreword by Walden Bello

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910820966103321
• Autore: Houtart François
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: London, : Pluto Press, 2010
• ISBN: 1-84964-560-4
• Edizione: [1st ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: xi, 196 p
• Collana: Transnational Institute series
• Altri autori (Persone): HoutartFrançois; BawtreeVictoria; MpoziBosco Bashangwa; BukassaBeinvenue Lutumba; GeuensGeoffrey; BelloWalden F
• Disciplina: 333.9539
• Soggetti: Energy crops industry; Energy crops - Environmental aspects; Energy crops - Economic aspects
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: First published in French as: L'agroénergie : Solution pour le climat ou sortie de crise pour le capital, by Couleur Livres (Charleroi, 2009).
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Preface -- 1. Energy and Development -- Exploiting Nature as a Source of Energy -- Energy in the Development Model -- Energy's Role in the Growth of Capitalism -- The Social and Ecological Effects of the Capitalist Development Model -- 2. The Twin Crises: Energy and Climate -- The Energy Crisis and Non-renewable Energy Sources -- The Climate Crisis or Global Warming -- 3. The Neoliberal Discourse on Climate Change -- First Stage: Denying or Playing Down Climate Change -- Second Stage: Promoting Market-friendly Solutions -- Problems with the Neoliberal Approach -- 4. Agrofuels and Agroenergy -- Characteristics of Agrofuels -- The Different Types of Agroenergy -- 5. Ethanol Production -- FROM SUGAR CANE -- In Brazil -- In Other Countries of the South -- In the Countries of the North -- 6. Agrodiesel Production ; -- FROM PALM OIL -- Origins and Characteristics -- Contemporary Production -- Personal Testimony from Colombia -- FROM JATROPHA CURCAS -- Origins and Characteristics -- Contemporary Production Programmes in Asia and Africa -- Plants Similar to Jatropha Curcas -- 7. The Collateral Effects of Agrofuels -- The Ecological Effects of Agrofuels -- The Social Effects of Agrofuels -- 8. The Socio-economic Dimensions of Agroenergy -- The Agricultural Model Underlying Agrofuels -- Economic and Financial Issues of Agrofuels -- Agrofuels and the Food Crisis -- Agrofuels and the Reproduction of Capital -- Agrofuels and the Development Model -- 9. Alternative Ways of Solving the Climate and Energy Crises and the Role of Agrofuels -- Solutions Envisaged and their Limitations -- Post-capitalist Logic of the Economy and a New Development Model -- Glossary -- Notes -- Index.
• Sommario/riassunto: Shows that agrofuels, once heralded as a solution to climate change, do more harm than good due to the capitalist system in which they are produced.