Doing More With Less: Biofuels And Rural Economic Development

And I think that is what’s at the heart of the biofuels movement: doing more with less. How can we deliver our energy needs from domestic sources and still deliver the food we all need? Well, as my grandmother pinpointed so many years ago, the answer lies in the waste.

…If there is waste from your crop, it now has value. New crop rotation can make your soil more fertile, and provide revenue opportunities during times of the year when the land may have previously laid fallow. Akin to farmers placing wind turbines on their land and receiving an income boost from energy production, we’re turning to farmers across the country and asking to partner with them on making greater use of their land.

…Producing energy in the future is a distributed opportunity. It makes the most sense from a fuel economy standpoint to use the fuel nearby where it is produced- not ship it halfway around the world. And if all communities, cities and states can produce the fuel we use, then we’re not just creating jobs – we’re keeping our money local too. We’ve got a long way to go before we can get there, but we have to start with the vision first.