Global Sustainable Bioenergy Project Launched
Scientists from around the world – including Tom Richard , Director of the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment – have joined forces to seek resolution of issues related to sustainable production of energy from biomass. In response to the substantial confusion and uncertainty about whether the world should look to bioenergy (biofuels, heat, and electricity) to play a prominent role in the future, a three-stage project has been initiated entitled Global Sustainable Bioenergy: Feasibility and Implementation Paths….
The first stage of the project will consist of meetings held at five locations around the world beginning in November, 2009 in Malaysia, followed by meetings in the first half of 2010 in the Netherlands, South Africa, Brazil, and the U.S. The second stage will address the question: Is it physically possible to meet a substantial fraction of future world mobility and/or electricity demand from plant sources while our global society also meets other important needs, including feeding humanity, habitat preservation, and maintaining environmental quality? The third stage will address implementation paths including technical, social, economic, political and ethical issues, aiming to develop policies and strategies for a responsible transition to a sustainable, world-wide bio-based society.
The GSB project is led by a three person steering committee of Nathanael Greene of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Tom Richard of Pennsylvania State University, and Lee Lynd of the Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College and Mascoma Corporation. READ MORE
