Global Economic and Environmental Aspects of Biofuels

Biofuels and food are dependent on the same resources for production: land, water, and energy. The conjuncture of food, energy, and climate crises demands a new direction in how to harness agriculture to the joint tasks of energy-saving, emissions reduction, and food security. Global Economic and Environmental Aspects of Biofuels focuses on the all-important question of the efficacy of biofuels as a solution to the global energy problem. Written by a distinguished team from five countries and multiple disciplines including agronomy, petroleum engineering, ecology, and meteorology, the book addresses the use of biofuels produced from crops and various organic materials as alternatives or supplements to petroleum.

Key Features

• Discusses biofuels within the context of the world population problem, food, malnutrition, resource depletion, and climate change
• Asks the critical question whether the production of ethanol from corn, sugar cane, crop residues, and other organic materials has proven too costly in both economic and environmental terms
• Analyzes the uses and interdependencies among land, water, and fossil energy resources in food versus biofuel production
• Includes case studies on the economic and environmental impacts of biofuel production and use from the United States, Europe, Brazil, and tropical environments
• Explores the future production of biodiesel and ethanol from salt-water algae and tropical palms, while recognizing the technological problems that must be resolved in processing these materials

This book examines key environmental and economic issues associated with the production of ethanol as a fuel, from corn, sugar cane, crop residues, and other organic materials. It brings together the opinions of a number of U.S. scientists and experts from Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Brazil, and highlights the remarkable agreement among the contributors on the pros and cons of biofuels as an answer to future petroleum shortages. This mix of contributors and opinions presents a well-rounded view of the subject that puts a spotlight on unresolved concerns and complexities that are often overlooked.

Biofuels cause malnutrition in the world. Biofuel and the world population problem. Energy cropping in marginal land: Viable option or fairy tale? Can switchgrass deliver the ethanol needed to power U.S. transportation? Biofuels, climate change, and human population. Uncertain prospects for sustainable energy in the United Kingdom. Net energy balance and carbon footprint of biofuel from corn and sugarcane. Water, food, and biofuels. The potential of Onondaga County to feed its own population and that of Syracuse, New York: Past, present, and future. Energy production from corn, cellulosic, and algae biomass. Biofuels and world food and society issues. The potential of algae and jatropha as biofuel sources. Crop residues for biofuel and increased soil erosion hazards. Biofuels, foods, livestock, and the environment.

David Pimentel, Ph.D., is Professor of Ecology of Agricultural Sciences in the Department of Entomology and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University. His research and consulting accomplishments cut across many disciplines. Dr. Pimentel has served on Presidential Commissions and National Academy of Sciences’ Boards and Committees. He has authored nearly 700 scientific publications, written three books, and edited 34 books.