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Sustainability & Biofuels

Sustainability & Biofuels. Biodiesel Workshop Brookhaven National Laboratory May 8, 2008 John Nettleton, Cornell University jsn10@cornell.edu. Sustainability & Biofuels

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Sustainability & Biofuels

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  1. Sustainability & Biofuels Biodiesel Workshop Brookhaven National Laboratory May 8, 2008 John Nettleton, Cornell University jsn10@cornell.edu

  2. Sustainability & Biofuels “If you can get them asking the wrong question, you won’t have to worry about the answers..” Thomas Pynchon in Gravity’s Rainbow “Our national faith so far has been: “There’s always more” …People of intelligence and ability seem now to be genuinely embarrassed by any solution to any problem that does not involve high technology, a great expenditure of energy, or a big machine.” Wendell Berry in ‘Faustian Economics: Hell hath no limits’, Harper’s Magazine, May 2008

  3. Sunshine Limits to Growth • 2nd Law- All production is consumption • Sustainable Development (SD): minimizes resource use, attends to ‘life cycle costs, end use efficiencies, distribution, etc. • 900 m² (~.1ha) cropland/per capita food energy • Each hectare supports 5.5 people ( 180 day) • (study) pop density at 3 persons/ha • Reach ‘sunshine limit’ in 35 years

  4. Sunshine Limits to Growth • 2nd Law- All production is consumption • SD: minimizes resource use, attends to ‘life cycle costs, end use efficiency, distribution, etc. • 900 m² (~.1ha) cropland/per cap food energy • Each hectare supports 5.5 people ( 180 day) • (now) pop density at 3 persons/ha • Reach ‘sunshine limit’ in 35 years • William Rees (Rees’s piece in Ecologist, 1996), draws on base data from 1986 1986+ 35 = 2021

  5. Sustainable Development What’s in a Name? #1: “..to meet the needs of the present generation w/o compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.” (Bruntland Commission, 1987) #2: “..development without growth- w/o growth in throughput beyond environmental regenerative and absorptive capacity.” (Herman Daly, 1996)

  6. Supply & Demand • Need equal attention to increased supply balanced with reduced demand: “just the right amount” (Goldilocks) • Fuel selection questions addressed via attention to sustainable public policy and education, planning and leadership • Massive economy+widespread practice= measurable impact (The North Slope)

  7. Projected biofuel consumption (without and with Gov’t Measures on Climate Change (MTOE)

  8. From “The Big Question: Can Biofuels help prevent global warming…”Steve Connor, Independent 15 January 2008

  9. Not the Silver Bullet • Physics: to cut U.S. fleet fuel demand ~10% = planting 1/6 of all arable land (OECD, 2005, solar gain at 4w/m²) • Challenge: making it to ‘2nd gen’ crop supply + Δ demand

  10. New York Dairy Farm Prototype • Farm of 500 acres + 100 head dairy cattle: Soybean prod. = 70% of needed feed (meal) • Purchase price for feed < sale price of BD. Operation cash positive before sale of dairy products. • Producing meal, BD sale saves farmers feed costs adding 34K gals/ BD to supply

  11. ‘Carbon Negative Biofuels from LIHD Biomass’, Tilman et al, Science Vol. 314

  12. Energy in Agriculture • Most (> 90%) energy in used crop prod is oil and/or NG: energy inputs have cut labor inputs from 500 hrs./acre to ~4 hrs./acre • “If fertilizer, pesticides and partial irrigation w/drawn, corn yields drop from 13 to 3 bushels/acre” (Pimental) • LIHD perennials yield 238% more over decade (NY has 1.5 million arable acres lying fallow)

  13. Green ‘Niche Fuels’ in NY (2008-15) • Significant and measurable public health benefits with BD blends for heating fuel & school bus fleets • Benefits for bldg management groups (RGGI) • New markets for ‘cool weather’ crops/refined WVO; LIHD crops sustainable over the long-term • Water-borne transport for regional producers in response to rising freight costs • Institutional savings with onsite WVO

  14. Sustainable Biofuel Policy Tasks • NY Region - Study reg’l capacity ‘cool weather crops • Frame municipal/regional policies leading to ‘best practices (see Carter principles for biofuels) • Develop transport/refining infrastructure • National - Revisit protectionist trade barriers (Brazil) - Design/develop balanced transport policies - Integrate RGGI and carbon tax policies for biofuels - Expand research re LIHD and other feedstock methods • Global - Work with EU and learn RTFO lessons - Collaborate on international standards re sustainabilty

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