On March 10, 2008, The Ecological Society of America will host a one-day conference on the Ecological Dimensions of Biofuels. 500 attendees will have the opportunity to hear invited presentations by leading scientists on:
- sustainable development and use of biofuels;
- social, biogeographic, land use, and biodiversity considerations; and,
- ecological dimensions of alternatives for crop selection and production, harvest and transport of product to refinery, and refining of liquid fuels and other co-products.
A keynote address will be delivered by Dr. Jose Goldemberg, Co-President of the Global Energy Assessment (GEA) Council and Professor at the Universidade de Sao Paulo. Goldemberg recently served as Secretary for the Environment of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and was a lead author of the World Energy Assessment.
The conference will conclude with an evening social featuring additional poster presentations and opportunities for attendees to network with presenters and others working in this important field.
Full details, including an agenda, confirmed speakers, registration information, and sponsorship opportunities, are available at http://www.esa.org/biofuels.
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
| Time | Topic | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30 am | “Environmental Impact of Biofuels Cropping Systems: Introduction”” | Bill Parton Colorado State University |
| 9:00 am | “Defining Sustainable Biofuels – or, “It isn’t Easy Being Green”” | John Sheehan LiveFuels, Inc. |
| 9:30 am | “Field to Fuel – Developing Sustainable Biorefineries” | Robin Jenkins Dupont Central Research and Development Experiment Station |
| 10:00 am | BREAK | |
| 10:30 am | “Biofuels and Water Quality in the Midwest: Corn vs. Switchgrass as Feedstocks” | Catherine Kling Iowa State University |
| 11:00 am | “The Biogeochemistry of Bioenergy Landscapes: Clean Water, Clean Air, & Climate Mitigation vs. Business as Usual” | Philip Robertson Michigan State University |
| 11:30 am | “Interactions between Biofuel Choices and Landscape Dynamics and Land use” | Virginia Dale Oak Ridge National Laboratory |
| 12:00 pm | Keynote Address (with lunch) “Environmental and Ecological Dimensions of Biofuels” | Jose Goldemberg Global Energy Assessment Council & Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brasil |
| 1:30 pm | “Biofuels and Biodiversity” | John Wiens The Nature Conservancy |
| 2:00 pm | “Production of Biofuels Feedstock on Agriculture Land and Grasslands” | Wally Wilhelm U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service |
| 2:30 pm | “Are Rangeland Biofuel Feedstocks Ecologically Sustainable?” | Linda Wallace University of Oklahoma |
| 3:00 pm | “Sustainable Biofuels and Bioproducts from our Forests” | Marilyn Buford U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service |
| 3:30 pm | BREAK | |
| 4:00 pm | “Municipal Solid Waste as Supplemental Feedstocks” | Donna Perla U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
| 4:30 pm | ” A Global-Scale Biofuels Program and its Environmental Consequences” | Jerry Melillo The Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory |
| 5:00 pm | “The Rush to Biofuels and Ecological Perspectives in the Policy Process” | Otto Doering Purdue University |
| 5:30 pm | Poster Social & Reception |