ARE BIOFUELS SUSTAINABLE? – LECTURE THIS FRIDAY

Friday, November 13th from 1:30-3:00 pm
Stassen Room, Humphrey Center, University of Minnesota West Bank

This is copied from an email I received from Sophia Ginis in the System Dynamics Interest Group. If you’re interested, come see.

Are biofuels sustainable considering the world’s need for food? How do biofuels contribute to greenhouse gas emissions? How have biofuels been helpful? Finally, how do we develop policies that actually encourage rather than stifle development of truly sustainable biofuels? John Sheenan will present his work in modeling on the effects of biofuels and help answer some of the existing land management issues.

John Sheehan is the Institute on the Environment’s scientific program coordinator for biofuels and the global environment, Sheehan’s work focuses on the multifaceted question of biofuels and their sustainability as a future energy source. Sheehan joined the University of Minnesota in February 2009, after spending nearly two decades working on biofuels. For 17 years, he worked as a project manager and analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. Initially trained as a biochemical engineer, he quickly developed an interest and expertise in the life-cycle assessment of biofuels. While at NREL, Sheehan also led research on the production and conversion of algae to biofuels; a technology that is now receiving a great deal of attention.