Blowback and Amoebas
Blowback is a recently become well-known term, coming out of the CIA jargon, to describe unintended consequences for one’s actions. In some respects, the fact that all actions have unintended consequences could render the world meaningless. However, blowback signals to us of past mistakes, and can be used as learning tools.
The amoeba, like any living system, will remain in a place as long as it’s needs are being met and it is comfortable. When that balance changes, it will move. Most species of amoeba move by sending an extension of itself called pseudopods (false feet) in the desired direction, and then exerting the rest of its mass in that direction. Pseudopods are tools of learning. Our civilization has been comfortable for the last one hundred years in an oil energy regime. Now, as prices rise to $100 a barrel and peak oil is being projected within our lifetimes, the system must find alternate energy resources. It must exert itself to alternative spaces. Naturally, we are sending pseudopods in many directions—other fossil fuels, nuclear, renewables, various solar and geothermal, etc. Some of these will ultimately not net us long-term homeostasis. They will be mistakcs. It is becoming clear that certain renewables—specifically biofuels from grain and palm oil—are not the answer. We need to withdraw our research pseudopods from these directions.
From the Dec. 14, 2007 Science came one of the latest arguments against grain-produced biofuels—Amazonian deforestation. Generous U.S. government subsidies have enticed many soy farmers to grow corn. “Since 2006, corn production has risen 10%, while soy production has fallen 15%.” This has fueled a rise in soy prices, which has in turn raised (soy-fed) cattle prices. This then encouraged more Brazilian farmers to raze Amazonian forests to cash in on both soy production and cattle ranching. Blowback. Mistake. Feelers in the wrong direction.
Front page January 19, 2007 New York Times, we read of more blowback from our energy-searching pseudopods, this time with respect to palm oil, soybean oil and other vegetable oils. The oils provide energy as measured by calories. We can use them as food or fuel. We can eat them or we can heat our homes and fuel our cars. The competition has contributed to about half of the 51% rise in the food price index (of the U.N.’s FAO) over the last two years. Palm oil prices, alone, have risen 70%, leading to hundreds of thousands of acres of Malaysian tropical deforestation.
