westcanforum

Most environmental policy is set by business interests and market segments.  It very often doesn't make sense. 

I know you believe that they are the result of failed sociopolitical policies, but in fact most of the time it has little to do with that.  At face value, biofuels seem to make little sense, but they make a lot more sense if you follow the money.  Agriculture is a large economic sector, but it is relatively flat in terms of growth.  People pay a certain amount for a food type and they won't really pay more.  Biofuels provided an unprecedented opportunity to add value to a product with very few development opportunities (bioengineering aside).  Quite simply, there is a huge amount of grain production in Canada at stagnant or negative growth.  It costs a lot to support an industry with zero or negative growth, so added value is welcomed both by the industry and by the government economists.

Thus biofuels are actually a product of capitalism with a light powdering of environmental green glitter to help with the sell.