Today, a letter sent by over 170 scientists from the Union of Concerned Scientists to the California Air Resources Board urged the CARB in advance of their vote on California's low carbon fuel standard to:

... account for biofuel pollution from indirect land use change -- as well as from other major fuel emissions sources -- under the state's proposed low carbon fuel standard (LCFS). Nearly all the 177 signers are independent experts in fields that directly relate to the issue, including climate, land use and economics. The signatories include nine members of the National Academies of Science and two Nobel laureates.

On Thursday, April 23, the board will vote on an LCFS, which would require gasoline and diesel fuel suppliers to reduce heat-trapping emissions from their fuels 10 percent by 2020.

In their letter, the scientists and economists pointed out that "[r]ecent peer-reviewed research indicates that conventional biofuels can directly or indirectly result in substantial heat-trapping emissions through the conversion of forests and grasslands to croplands to accommodate biofuel production."

Read the full letter here.

Craig Cox, EWG Midwest Vice President had this to say regarding the UCS letter from EWG's office in Ames, IA:

"The science is in, and it has the Nobel stamp of approval. Indirect land use must be part of the equation used by CARB and eventually by EPA to determine if biofuels are meeting the mandated requirements for green house gas emissions."