The Biofuels Revolution: Understanding the Social, Cultural, and Economic Impacts of Biofuels Development on Rural Communities
The goal of this project is to provide a better understanding of the socio-economic and cultural implications of biofuels development for rural communities, and to contribute to more informed policy development regarding bioenergy. This goal will be accomplished through an in-depth analysis of the impacts of ethanol production on six rural communities in the Midwestern states of Kansas and Iowa.
Objectives of the project are:
1. To understand how the growth of biofuel production has affected and will affect Midwestern farmers and rural communities in terms of economic, demographic, and socio-cultural impacts.
2. To determine how state agencies, groundwater management districts, local governments and policy makers evaluate or manage bioenergy development in relation to competing demands for economic growth, diminishing water resources, and social considerations.
3. To determine the factors that influence the water management practices of agricultural producers in Kansas and Iowa (e.g. geographic setting, water management institutions, competing water-use demands as well as producers’ attitudes, beliefs, and values) and how these influences relate to bioenergy feedstock production and biofuel processing.
4. To determine the relative importance of social-cultural, environmental and/or economic factors in the promotion of biofuels development and expansion in rural communities.
Our comprehensive methodology will include: demographic analysis; field research involving in-depth personal interviews and focus groups with key informants and selected community groups; a general population opinion survey of community residents; and a content analysis of local newspapers and print media. Participants for this research include Kansas State University Department of Sociology, Iowa State University Department of Sociology. Other organizations, such as the North Central Center for Rural Development at Iowa State University, the Kansas Rural Center, the Kansas Population Center, the Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment (K-CARE), will facilitate contacts for research and for dissemination of results. Additional participants will include the community organizations and stakeholder groups in the case study communities.
The project will produce the following Outputs:
• comprehensive case study findings based on demographic analysis, field research and interviews, opinion surveys, and content analysis.
• a summary of the possible implications for policy development regarding bioenergy,
• project website to be hosted by the Kansas Population Center,
• academic papers, an edited book, and technical reports, and
• a database of project findings
Anticipated long-term Impacts and Outcomes include:
• Scientists, policy makers, private industry, communities, and other stakeholders will have a better understanding of social, cultural, economic and environmental implications of biofuel development.
• Local, regional, and national policy-makers will use this information to make informed decisions about biofuel development on local communities.
• Proponents of biofuel development will consider social, cultural, economic and environmental implications at the local level..
The project is funded by the Department of Energy, through its program on Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications (ELSI) of Research on Alternative Bioenergy Technologies, Synthetic Genomics, or Nanotechnologies. The project PI is Theresa Selfa (Kansas State University), co-PIs are Richard Goe, Laszlo Kulcsar and Gerad Middendorf (Kansas State University) and Carmen Bain (Iowa State University).
The goal of this project is to provide a better understanding of the socio-economic and cultural implications of biofuels development for rural communities, and to contribute to more informed policy development regarding bioenergy. This goal will be accomplished through an in-depth analysis of the impacts of ethanol production on six rural communities in the Midwestern states of Kansas and Iowa.
Objectives of the project are:
1. To understand how the growth of biofuel production has affected and will affect Midwestern farmers and rural communities in terms of economic, demographic, and socio-cultural impacts.
2. To determine how state agencies, groundwater management districts, local governments and policy makers evaluate or manage bioenergy development in relation to competing demands for economic growth, diminishing water resources, and social considerations.
3. To determine the factors that influence the water management practices of agricultural producers in Kansas and Iowa (e.g. geographic setting, water management institutions, competing water-use demands as well as producers’ attitudes, beliefs, and values) and how these influences relate to bioenergy feedstock production and biofuel processing.
4. To determine the relative importance of social-cultural, environmental and/or economic factors in the promotion of biofuels development and expansion in rural communities.
Our comprehensive methodology will include: demographic analysis; field research involving in-depth personal interviews and focus groups with key informants and selected community groups; a general population opinion survey of community residents; and a content analysis of local newspapers and print media. Participants for this research include Kansas State University Department of Sociology, Iowa State University Department of Sociology. Other organizations, such as the North Central Center for Rural Development at Iowa State University, the Kansas Rural Center, the Kansas Population Center, the Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment (K-CARE), will facilitate contacts for research and for dissemination of results. Additional participants will include the community organizations and stakeholder groups in the case study communities.
The project will produce the following Outputs:
• comprehensive case study findings based on demographic analysis, field research and interviews, opinion surveys, and content analysis.
• a summary of the possible implications for policy development regarding bioenergy,
• project website to be hosted by the Kansas Population Center,
• academic papers, an edited book, and technical reports, and
• a database of project findings
Anticipated long-term Impacts and Outcomes include:
• Scientists, policy makers, private industry, communities, and other stakeholders will have a better understanding of social, cultural, economic and environmental implications of biofuel development.
• Local, regional, and national policy-makers will use this information to make informed decisions about biofuel development on local communities.
• Proponents of biofuel development will consider social, cultural, economic and environmental implications at the local level..
The project is funded by the Department of Energy, through its program on Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications (ELSI) of Research on Alternative Bioenergy Technologies, Synthetic Genomics, or Nanotechnologies. The project PI is Theresa Selfa (Kansas State University), co-PIs are Richard Goe, Laszlo Kulcsar and Gerad Middendorf (Kansas State University) and Carmen Bain (Iowa State University).