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US biofuels

A field in ferment

Nature volume 444, pages 673–676 (2006)Cite this article

To move US biofuels beyond subsidized corn will be a challenge, reports Katharine Sanderson.

Critics of the US ethanol industry have long derided it as an environmentally questionable subsidy to Mid-western farmers that simply serves a transparently political purpose. Voters in Iowa, the buckle in the US corn belt, get first say in the process of choosing presidential candidates. All such candidates are in favour of turning corn (maize), which the state produces in abundance, into ethanol. This pre-presidential support is good for the Iowan economy, but not necessarily that great for the environment.

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  1. writes on the physical sciences for Nature,

    Katharine Sanderson

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  1. Katharine Sanderson
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US Billion Ton Study

Biofuels for transportation Report from the Worldwatch Institute

From Biomass to Biofuels: A roadmap to the energy future US Department of Energy

Growing Energy report from NRDC

Winning the Oil Endgame from the Rocky Mountain Institute

European Union News and Perspectives

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Sanderson, K. A field in ferment. Nature 444, 673–676 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/444673a

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