Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
idealistic and optimistic outlook considering the difficulty in reaching agreement
over and getting along on the “simple” things. For this to be possible, it is necessary
to view from a high, long-term level. The size of the human population and the level
of technology that has been achieved make it possible for humans to change Earth's
environment. There are many examples of effects on air, water, and soil quality as a
result of land clearing and agricultural practices, of contamination associated with
meeting energy needs and with industrial production, and as a result of use of con-
sumer products. It is not clear that sustainability/survivability at a desired level is or
can be by itself market driven. It is not clear or intuitively obvious that if it makes a
profit it will be in the long term desirable or sustainable. There is need for long-term
goals and policies that steer market forces toward the desired outcome.
From a national perspective, a policy that promotes bioenergy, or renewable
energy in general, will have significant economic benefits.
conclusIons
The world's population has become dependent on petroleum, coal, and natural gas
for most of its energy needs. These fossil energy sources are finite and therefore not
sustainable. They also come with significant security, environmental, and economic
side effects. Therefore, renewable energy sources and systems must be developed
and implemented. The sun is the only significant source of renewable energy for the
earth. The challenge is to effectively and efficiently capture and make use of that
solar energy. One method is through photosynthesis, by which plants gather and store
in their tissues energy from solar radiation. The energy,
bioenergy
, stored in plant
biomass can, by use of biochemical or thermochemical processes, be used directly
for heat or power or can be converted into liquid or gaseous fuels. Bioenergy has
the potential to provide a significant portion of the world energy needs, to improve
energy security, to improve environmental quality, and to enhance both rural and
national economies and to do so sustainably. Bioenergy production systems must
overcome barriers to commercialization and must avoid potential side effects that
could render these practices nonsustainable. If managed properly, bioenergy produc-
tion will provide significant benefits to agriculture and rural areas and will do so
while at the same time adequately meeting the world's food, feed, and fiber needs.
Renewable energy must be developed such that it is sustainable
. The need for sus-
tainable energy is not whether, but how and when. Although the need is urgent, a cri-
sis may have to occur before the sense of urgency is sufficient for significant action.
Bioenergy cannot fulfill the total energy needs of the United States or of the
world. Sustainable bioenergy can, however, provide a significant portion of the liq-
uid fuels needed for transportation and a significant amount of renewable energy for
other purposes.
The good news for the earth is that the sun provides a huge amount of energy, many
times what human activities consume. Therefore, the world can operate on an energy-
sustainable basis. It is not necessary to rely on nonrenewable, finite energy sources.
The bad news is that incident solar radiation is distributed and reasonably low intensity,
or from the reverse perspective, it is not concentrated and as energy dense as fossil fuel
