Global Economic and Environmental Aspects of Biofuels

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.

• 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.

"Interest in biofuels is mostly driven by their relative carbon neutrality and adaptability to the existing infrastructure, particularly in the transportation sector. The gradual increase in mixing ethanol with gasoline has raised questions about biofuels, especially those produced from crops and food stocks. This book discusses several of these issues, including resulting food shortages, water use, and land erosion, questioning the efficacy of biofuels as a replacement for fossil fuels both economically and environmentally. Using case studies of several industrial countries, the book explores the limits of biofuels in filling current and future energy demands given population growth and improved living standards in developing countries. … Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above."—J. Tavakoli, Lafayette College, CHOICE, Vol. 50 No. 08, April 2013