The Oil Palm Controversy: Problems, Possibilities and Politics

Oil palms have been an agricultural mainstay in humid tropics for thousands of years. Today, extensive oil palm cultivation offers the most feasible solution for sustainable biofuel production.

On the other hand, expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia has devastated rainforests and led to the evacuation of indigenous villages. Plantations established on peatlands have released a vast quantity of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

What kind of palm oil and biofuel policy should we adopt?

Risto Isomäki is a science and science fiction writer and a well-known environmental activist. Many of his forecasts for the future of our planet have proved eerily accurate.

Keywords: talous, ympäristö, energia