The Bio-based Economy
نویسنده
چکیده
The bio-based economy can and should be to the 21 century what the fossil-based economy was to the 20 century. Agriculture will be core to the bio-based economy, providing source materials for commodity items, e.g. liquid fuels and value-added products such as chemicals and materials. For example, a hectare (2.47 acres) of biomass crop converted to 16,800 L (4,450 gallons) of ethanol at a cost of $0.13/L ($0.50/ gallon), grown on 20 Mha (50 million acres) of non-prime agricultural land would, along with domestic petroleum, enable national self-sufficiency in gasoline. At the same time, agriculture will continue to provide food and feed that are even more healthful and safe. The public-good benefits that will accrue from the bio-based economy are compelling (Fig. 1). They include national and homeland security, economic advantages to farmers, industry, rural communities, and society, environmental benefits at the global, regional, and local levels—including sustainability—and other benefits to society in terms of human health and safety. New crops and new uses are central to the bio-based economy. A combination of aggressive facilitating, national policy, public and private investment, and development of the necessary science and technology is needed to realize these benefits in a reasonable time frame.
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