Lecture on Biofuels

“Biofuels as a Contact Sport: Shifting the Debate from Food vs. Fuel
to Sustainable Land Management”

Lecture by:
John Sheehan, Scientific Program Coordinator, Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota

Wednesday, noon to 1 p.m.

Location:
University of Minnesota St. Paul campus
Institute on the Environment
Seminar Room 380
VoTech Building
1954 Buford Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108

Free and open to the public; no registration required
Link to map: http://environment.umn.edu/about/map.html

Ever since Jimmy Carter introduced the notion of gasohol to a nation beset by high prices and long lines at the gasoline pump, experts have struggled with the question of whether agriculture should feed the world or fuel the world. The result of this 40-year debate? Acrimony and confusion. Policy makers and the public don’t know what to make of it. The latest round of expert debates centers on the CO2 released from the clearing of forests due to increased biofuels demand—the so-called indirect land use effect. This is really the same old debate recast as a climate problem. John Sheehan offers a critical and common sense perspective on the controversy over sustainable use of land for food, feed, fiber and fuel production.

For a listing of all lectures offered in this series, visit:
http://environment.umn.edu/news_events/events/frontiers.html