The Bioeconomy in Iowa: Local Conversations

Brown, Paul; Borich, Tim; Devlin, Steve; Euken, Jill

The Bioeconomy in Iowa: Local Conversations

Date

2007-06-01

Authors

Brown, Paul

Borich, Tim

Devlin, Steve

Euken, Jill

Organizational Units

Organizational Unit

Extension and Outreach

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach helps carry Iowa State’s land-grant mission beyond campus, to be the university that best serves the citizens of Iowa. With Iowa State University, we embrace the land-grant philosophy of:

access to high-quality education
research applied to the needs of Iowa, the nation, and world
extending knowledge to strengthen Iowa’s economy and citizens’ quality of life

We do that by offering practical, how-to education based on powerful university research. It’s available to any resident of Iowa and is tailored to meet the needs of Iowans, needs we know firsthand. Our educators, specialists, and volunteers live and work in all 99 Iowa counties.

Organizational Unit

Bioeconomy Institute

The Bioeconomy Institute at Iowa State University leads the nation and world in establishing the bioeconomy, where society obtains renewable fuel, energy, chemicals, and materials from agricultural sources. The institute seeks to advance the use of biorenewable resources for the production of fuels, energy, chemicals, and materials. The Institute will assure Iowa’s prominence in the revolution that is changing the way society obtains its essential sources of energy and carbon. This revolution will dramatically reduce our dependence on petroleum. Instead of fossil sources of carbon and energy, the bioeconomy will use biomass (including lignocellulose, starches, oils and proteins) as a renewable resource to sustain economic growth and prosperity. Agriculture will supply renewable energy and carbon to the bioeconomy while engineering will transform these resources into transportation fuels, commodity chemicals, and electric power. This transformation, however, must be done in a manner that meets our present needs without compromising those of future generations.

Department

Extension and OutreachBioeconomy Institute

Abstract

Report of citizen discussion groups held in spring 2007 in 96 Iowa counties regarding hopes and concerns about the bioeconomy. More than 950 participated in these Extension-facilitated meetings.