Boeing researching tobacco to use for jet fuel

This week, we talked about responsible tourism. I was interested in the idea, so I thought I would find a current event article on the topic, and found this one from the Smithsonian stating that Boeing is researching practical alternative jet fuels from various bio sources. This specific article talks about the efforts put forth by Boeing, South African Airways, and SkyNRG to turn tobacco into jet fuel.

Now, it’s not the tobacco we are used to. This variation of the tobacco plant used for energy, called Solaris, has oily seeds that can be processed and turned into biofuel. The Solaris tobacco plant is also nicotine-free, which is great for the health of farm workers toiling in the fields; a study of Hispanic workers in North Carolina found that about 41% of workers got Green Tobacco Sickness, which is caused when nicotine is absorbed through the skin (“Fact”). Deemed a “win-win-win” by the companies involved, this form of the tobacco plant can replace farms of nicotine-filled tobacco, alleviating the health risk on farm workers while still maintaining tobacco farms in the economy (Willmott). At the same time, it will create a more sustainable fuel for the future, and can reduce fuel prices in the future, which account for about 1/3 of the operating expenses for airlines (tobacco fuel is currently more expensive than ordinary jet fuel, but the costs would come down over time).

This all sounds very good to me, as the need to move away from fossil fuels is dire. However, there is still more that I want to know. Normal tobacco plants need heavy amounts of fertilizers and pesticides, which are damaging to the environment and to the health of farm workers and animals. This practice leaves behind chemicals that can leech into our groundwater. A second concern is that tobacco plants take valuable nutrients from the soil, it is one of the major crops that causes soil degradation. This stresses the need for farmers to rotate crops because the land becomes unsuitable. Another environmental consequence to growing tobacco is deforestation, mainly in farming and curing the tobacco leaves. While this would be slightly alleviated because there would be no need to use wood to cure the tobacco, there still exists the worry that forests will be cut down to meet the demand for the plant.

I haven’t been able to find any answers to whether or not this nicotine-free Solaris tobacco plant has any of these problems associated with its growth; however, if it proves to do the same damage that plagues the common tobacco plant, then I think we should try to find another source of biofuel. Thankfully, Boeing is working on several other experiments in a number of other countries searching for a sustainable bio fuel to replace the current option.

Works Cited

"Fact Sheet: Environmental Impact of Tobacco." (n.d.): n. pag. Multnomah County Health Department, Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Jan. 2015. <http://www.pdx.edu/healthycampus/sites/www.pdx.edu.healthycampus/files/Environmental_Impacts.3.7.13.pdf>.

Willmott, Don. "Holy Smokes! Tobacco May Fuel Planes in the Future." Smithsonian. The Smithsonian Institute, 12 Nov. 2014. Web. 21 Jan. 2015. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/holy-smokes-tobacco-may-fuel-planes-future-180953306/?no-ist>.