*This course will not be offered W14*

Biofuels are convenient energy carriers produced from biomass such as corn, sugar cane, oil seeds and other crops, trees, grasses, algae, and organic wastes. Because they can take the form of liquids such as ethanol, biodiesel or synthetic compounds compatible with existing transportation fuels, biofuels are seen as crucial substitutes for petroleum. Biofuels are considered renewable because they utilize today's solar energy and recycle carbon. Policies are being developed to promote their greater use and research is proceeding to develop them on an industrial scale, but just how sustainable are biofuels? Questions about their environmental impacts, including net effects on carbon balance at scales from landscapes to the global, as well as competition for land, water, and food, are widely debated. This course will equip students to understand and thoughtfully participate in the ongoing scientific and policy discussions surrounding biofuels. Through a combination of lectures, readings, interactive exercises and discussions, term projects, assignments and presentations, students will learn about various biofuel options and their production, applicable methods of analysis (particularly for carbon balance) and comparison to other carbon mitigation options, policies influencing biofuels use and the views of various stakeholders in the debate. Students completing the course will have mastered a critical understanding of the complex, interdisciplinary thinking about this important topic of energy and sustainability.