2% Biofuels Mandate by 2011

I was reading an article in http://www.biofuels-news.com/ about the Canadian Trucking Alliance reaction to a 2% bio-diesel requirement for heavy trucks in 2011. Although some comments are valid, their attitude leaves something to be desired. Demonstrated in this comment made by their president: "The impetus for such a policy is really to create a new market for farmers."

This comment inspired me to take a little look at the efficiency of trucking versus other forms of freight transport. I found some numbers in Wikipedia from the US Transportation Energy book (for 2004) which gave a breakdown as follows:

Class 1 Rail 341 BTU/short ton mile
Domestic water borne 510 BTU/short ton mile
Heavy trucks 3357 BTU/short ton mile
Air freight (approx) 9600 BTU/short ton mile

Here lies the attitude problem - it is a real leap to embrace renewable fuels when conservation and efficiency have not been a priority.