Next Generation Energy

This map depicts the world's relative geography.

As I was researching the biodiesel crop Jatropha for this post I ran across the recent news regarding Maoist rebels that raided a biofuel plantation in the Philippines. I read on to find that it is not necessarily a specific objection to biofuels by this group but a general dislike of foreign investment into the region. I should add that as far as I know, no Maoist rebels were interviewed for the story. Nonetheless, an interesting question or dilemma persists. Where do we point the finger for the cause of anthropogenic global warming and where will we likely point it in the future?

This map depicts the world's relative population.

Shortly before this recent time of biofuels, there was a shortage of food. Human population growth had surpassed our ability to produce food. The green revolution managed to stay off wide spread famine in India, for example. Still there has been a struggle to produce and/or distribute enough food for the world's growing population. It is only human to make every effort to feed those in need, but one solution no doubt is to have fewer mouths to feed. Now we point the finger. Places like parts of central Africa and the Middle East have very high growth rates, while the former Soviet
This map depicts the world's relative wealth.Union has negative growth. It is all too easy for Americans to point a finger at the teaming masses of mouths as the cause of planetary distress, but alas, we in the US consume a disproportionate amount of resources, to say the least. Now we added another major effect parameter to issues of agricultural land use, biofuel (agrofuel) production.

Recently, a report was issued by the World Bank stating that the recent increase in food prices is in part due to the use of food, namely corn and sugarcane, to make biofuel. Second generation biofuels will be derived from non-food crops, but issues of land and water use continue. If the Maoists are not such anarchic generalists, would their efforts to feed the poor by ending biofuels be misguided?
This map depicts the world's global CO₂ emissions.I think these maps make it a hard call and on top of that, energy can be a global commodity and energy is required to produce food. This would argue in favor of energy dependent food pricing as much as food based biofuels influencing food price. And for the sake of argument and putting humanity aside, how do we weigh the importance of the cost of food versus the cost of CO₂ emissions?