Biofuels Also Create Dangerous Spills

The document asserts that biofuel production and transport lead to dangerous spills, leaks, and fires that pollute ecosystems and kill aquatic life. It highlights specific incidents in Missouri and Iowa and notes that cleanup procedures for water-soluble fuels like ethanol are underdeveloped. The text advocates for shifting taxpayer funding from corn ethanol toward energy conservation, public transportation, electric cars, and sustainable solar and wind technologies.

• Biofuel spills and fires typically result from accidents and leaks during transport via trains and trucks, or from the discharge of byproduct pollutants from production plants.
• Biofuels, especially ethanol, are highly toxic to water ecosystems; notable examples include a 2008 spill in Missouri that killed endangered mussels and a 2009 ethanol spill that caused the largest fish-kill in Iowa's history.
• Remediation of biofuel spills is challenging because cleanup procedures are still being developed, and certain water-soluble fuels, such as ethanol, cannot be removed from water.

APA

McMahon, K. (2010). Biofuels Also Create Dangerous Spills. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/blog/2010-05-biofuels-also-create-dangerous-spills/

Chicago

McMahon, Kate. Biofuels Also Create Dangerous Spills. Friends of the Earth, 2010. https://foe.org/blog/2010-05-biofuels-also-create-dangerous-spills/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=McMahon |first1=Kate |title=Biofuels Also Create Dangerous Spills |publisher=Friends of the Earth |date=6 May 2010 |url=https://foe.org/blog/2010-05-biofuels-also-create-dangerous-spills/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mcmahon2010biofuels, author = {McMahon, Kate}, title = {{Biofuels Also Create Dangerous Spills}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2010}, month = may, url = {https://foe.org/blog/2010-05-biofuels-also-create-dangerous-spills/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }