(Houghton, MI) –– Michigan Technological University’s Sustainable Futures Institute (SFI) and a broad range of Pan American partners see biofuel as a good answer to society’s growing need for alternative energy. But they want to make sure that it is produced in a sustainable way, benefiting rather than harming the societies and environments producing it.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is funding a Research Coordination Network (RCN) to help researchers, policymakers, industry leaders and others investigate the effects of mass biofuel production on human communities and natural systems. The Sustainable Futures Institute (SFI) manages the RCN program at Michigan Tech.
Pan American countries are the focus of the work because they have favorable characteristics for biomass production such as large land areas, productive soil and relatively temperate climates. Additionally, some nations have growing bioenergy industries, while others have active research and development programs, offering potential partnerships.
Since the effects of biofuel production on human communities and natural ecosystems are largely unknown, the RCN takes an interdisciplinary approach to its research on local biomass production. Involving researchers from fields like engineering, social sciences and environmental sciences, the RCN is able to take into account historical contexts, cultural-political relationships and availability of natural resources.
Last year, RCN participants met in Merida, Mexico, to share information about their work. This May, they met again in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to discuss their progress and plan future research.
Partnerships for Research and Education (PIRE) is another NSF-funded project that grew out of RCN. PIRE,’s lead researcher is Kathleen Halvorsen, a professor of natural resource policy at Michigan Tech. The PIRE team is studying impacts from bioenergy production in Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the US and Argentina.
“We’re working to fill the research gaps in bioenergy production so we can maximize the benefits and minimize the negative impacts,” Halvorsen explains. “Another thing we want to do is improve policy in these countries to support the research and development of bioenergy.”
For the full story, see http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/august/story94694.html
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