Sustainable Biofuels Redux
Author: G. Philip Robertson et al.
Author Affiliation: W. K. Kellogg Biological Station and Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners
Submitted: Thu, 09/17/2009 - 19:27
Published in: Science Magazine on 3 October 2008
Copyright Status: Not disclosed Link to source material: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/322/5898/49 Description:
Last May’s passage of the 2008 Farm Bill raises the stakes for biofuel sustainability: A substantial subsidy for the production of cellulosic ethanol starts the United States again down a path with uncertain environmental consequences. This time, however, the subsidy is for both the refiners($1.01 per gallon) and the growers ($45 per ton of biomass), which will rapidly accelerateadoption and place hard-to-manage pressures on efforts to design and implement sustainable production practices—as will a 2007 legislative mandate for 16 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year by 2022. Similar directives elsewhere, e.g., the European Union’s mandate that 10% of all transport fuel in Europe be from renewable sources by 2020, make this a global issue. The European Union’s current reconsideration of this target places even more emphasis on cellulosicfeedstocks (1). The need for knowledge- and science-based policy is urgent. Login to post comments
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