Biofuels are key to improve air quality
Biofuel symposium discussed ways to increase the industry.
March 16, 2007
Biofuels have been heralded for their promise of improved air quality, enhanced energy security and sustainability and more equitable agricultural policy, according to the Life Sciences and Society Program Web site.
The Fourth Annual Life Sciences and Society Symposium addressed issues of biofuels and how the university can get involved on Wednesday and Thursday at the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center.
On Thursday, there were four sessions throughout the day including the final session, "How Will Missouri Participate?"
Biofuels was the topic addressed during the two-day seminar. Biofuels are fuels derived directly from living matter and are reusable fuels. Alcohols, gases and solids can create biofuels.
"The amount of light that comes from the sun in one minute is more energy than society uses in one year," said speaker Ganesh Kishore, vice president and chief biotechnology officer of Dupont Science and Technology.
Using other alternatives of energy is becoming especially important for the future.
Biological harvesting is the best-known mechanism to produce portable chemical energy.
The United States uses 25 percent of the world's oil, which is more than the next five highest consuming nations combined, according 2005 U.S. congressional records.
"We need to get more productive in the way we use energy," Kishore said.
The Midwest has the resources to become a major player in producing biofuel as a new form of energy, Kishore said. Soybeans and corn are produced in large quantities in the region and would be useful in the development of biofuel.
Kishore said Missouri is making a commitment to becoming a key state in the biofuel revolution.
Rep. Steve Hobbs, R-Mexico, said the state has made a conscious decision to focus on plant and animal research. Some of the funds for this research are provided by tobacco money.
Mike Mills, Missouri Department of Economic Development deputy director, said Gov. Matt Blunt told the Department of Economic Development last summer not to offer incentives that don't involve a farmer majority.
Kishore was quick to point out that this is in the developmental stages and they "finished the first half of the first inning."
He said Missouri can help by attracting research investments, the state investing in research, promoting collaboration and linking research and market needs.
With these developments and the level of commitment shown by the state, Missouri is becoming closer to meeting its goal of becoming a green state.
"The very definition of insanity is doing the same things the same way every time and expecting a different outcome," Hobbs said.
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