The Chicago area, despite its urban character, is home to significant biodiversity. Situated at the intersection of the northern boreal forest, prairie, savanna, and dune environments, Chicago is a crossroads for more than just our own species. Here the great eastern tallgrass prairies met oak-hickory woodlands as well as wetlands, savannas, swamps, and other associations, forming a complex mosaic of environments. The long history of human habitation in this region has significantly transformed local environments, but not all pre-contact environments have vanished and local efforts at restoration and conservation have begun to make a significant difference in the extent and health of indigenous plants and animals. Our logo is derived from the Hickory (Carya); local oak-hickory forests are dominated by Shagbark Hickory (C. ovata) and Bitternut Hickory (C. cordiformis).2008
Dr. Barry D. Solomon, Michigan Technological University
Tuesday, May 13, 2008 • 1:00 PM
Classics 110
Refreshments served following the lecture
The United States (US) and Brazil have been the two leading producers of fuel ethanol since the 1970s. National policies have supported the production and use of ethanol from corn and sugarcane. US support in particular has included exemption from federal gasoline excise taxes, whole or partial exemption from road use (sales) taxes in nine states, a federal production tax credit, and a federal blender’s credit. In the last decade the subsidization of grain-based ethanol has been increasingly criticized as economically inefficient, environmentally un-sound, and of questionable social benefit. In addition, much greater production of ethanol from corn may conflict with food production needs.
A promising development is the acceleration of the technical readiness of cellulosic alcohol fuels, which can be produced from the woody parts of trees and plants, perennial grasses, or residues. This technology is now being commercialized and has greater long-term potential than grain ethanol. It will be discussed from the perspective of ecological economics. Cellulosic ethanol is projected to be much more cost-effective, environmentally beneficial, and have a greater energy output to input ratio than grain ethanol. The technology is being developed in North America, Brazil, Japan and Europe. We will review the historical evolution of US federal and state energy policy support for, and the currently attractive economics of, the production and use of ethanol from biomass. Various energy and economic policies will be reviewed and assessed for their potential effects on cellulosic ethanol development relative to gasoline in the US.
Barry D. Solomon is a professor of geography and environmental policy in the Department of Social Sciences at Michigan Technological University. His specialties are energy and environmental policy analysis. He is the founder and past president of the U.S. Society for Ecological Economics. Previously, he was a senior economist in the Acid Rain and Climate Change Divisions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for extensive outreach and education with State Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) on air emissions trading, developing and implementing the conservation verification protocols, and for working with the electric utility industry and PUCs on the use of energy conservation and renewable energy as pollution prevention and acid rain compliance strategies. He also was instrumental in developing country studies for greenhouse gas reduction, the establishment of energy efficiency centers in Eastern Europe, and was a member of the special team that developed The Climate Change Action Plan for President Clinton. In his 6 1/2 years at the EPA, he managed a dozen grants and contracts with consulting firms, energy laboratories and universities.
Before coming to EPA, Dr. Solomon spent over 4 years at the Energy Information Administration and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission working on electric utility fuel supply and petroleum market issues; and was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Geography and Energy Resource Economics at West Virginia University. He received his B.A. in Social Ecology from the University of California at Irvine and his MPA and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Policy, and Geography and Public & Environmental Affairs from Indiana University. He is the coauthor or editor of 4 books, 54 refereed journal articles, and more than 80 other publications in the energy and environmental field, and has received funding from the EPA, DOE, NSF and Caterpillar.
