Video: King County to do biodiesel analysis

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SEATTLE - King County has embraced its obligation to reduce carbon emissions; but now, King County Council member Reagan Dunn is wondering if the use of biofuel is doing more harm than good. 

Councilmember Dunn is calling for an in depth study of biodiesel.  King County Metro buses use about two million gallons of biodiesel each year. The county uses it because it's supposed to help the environment. 

It seemed like a good idea: growing our own energy, turning corn into ethanol to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. A canola-based biodiesel fuel blend is now being used in King County Metro buses in an attempt to lower harmful emissions from the tailpipe. 

But now, Dunn is calling for a life-cycle analysis of that biofuel to see if it's use is having severe, unintended consequences.  The United Nations now says growing food for fuel instead of using it to feed people is contributing to food shortages across the globe. And many biofuel sources need large amounts of water, fertilizers and pesticides to produce. 

Some scientists are now indicating that the fuel that was supposed to be cleaner for the environment may actually do more damage to the environment than fossil fuels. 

King County's life cycle analysis of biodiesel will look at the environmental throughout its entire development.  That would include land-clearing, planting, harvesting, transportation, biodiesel conversion, blending and fuel usage.  

King County is going to await the results of that study in trying to determine the benefits and costs and figure out if they're going to continue using biodiesel in the future.