The Food, Fuel, Water Triangle:
The Biofuel Puzzle
2009 Exploration Seminar in South-Central Brazil
THIS PROGRAM IS FULL AND NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS. PLEASE CONSIDER ANOTHER EXPLORATION SEMINAR PROGRAM!
Program Director: Denise Wilson (Engineering)
Dates of Instruction: June 26 - July 19, 2009
NOTE THAT THIS PROGRAM IS A SUMMER (A Term) AND NOT AN EARLY FALL PROGRAM: This affects how credit, payments and financial aid are handled. Please click here for information.
If you put a sugarcane and an ear of corn at the same table, what would they talk about? Would corn realize that it has a long way to go before it becomes the sugarcane of the United States? Would sugarcane gape in awe of the subsidies and the fame that corn enjoys in the U.S. as the purported solution to relieving dependence on fossil fuels? Would corn look shyly away and confess to its weaknesses and inefficiency compared to sugarcane in producing ethanol?
 Or would they both just sit at the table and ferment, evolving into ethanol of their own free will… while we discuss their fate in this Exploration Seminar about biofuels and their impact on food and water resources? We invite you to find out, as we explore the fascinating world of biofuels in the midst of a successful biofuel based economy.
The United States and Brazil lead the world in ethanol production, albeit from different crops, with very different environmental, social, and economic implications. Brazil is largely considered to be the first country in the world to develop a sustainable biofuel economy. Almost 20% of all vehicle use in Brazil is based on ethanol consumption, yet only 1% of its land area is used for ethanol production. The use of sugarcane rather than corn or other crops for ethanol production makes Brazil far more efficient at using land and resources for fuel production than the United States. Yet, invariably, sugarcane use for ethanol production consumes a different composition of land, water, and other resources than local, mainstream agricultural crops. Furthermore, environmental impacts of sugarcane production are far different from corn and other American staples for ethanol production. The use of land to produce sustainable energy (through biofuels) is substantially more varied and dependent on culture, climate, practice, and environment than fossil fuel usage. Creating a sustainable balance among food and fuel production and the use of water and other natural resources is an emerging and enormously complex problem that engineers, policy makers, and environmental scientists face in developing technology over the 21st century.
 In this Exploration Seminar, we will traverse south-central Brazil to understand the transitions from water to fuel, from water to food, and from water, fuel, and food to culture, policy, and social fabric. We will start in the world’s largest wetland, the Pantanal to explore the fate of water as it serves the needs of agriculture for both food and fuel. After leaving the north Pantanal (near Cuiaba), we will travel by bus to Campinas, where we will visit and work with one of the premier agricultural research centers of Brazil (at Unicamp University). After understanding the fabric, tensions, and synergy amongst the food, fuel, and water players, we will move on to Piracicaba, where we will spend a week in Home Stay and community service placements in conjunction with a local branch of an international service organization. After our full immersion, we will enter Sao Paolo, for the most urban experience of our seminar, viewing the bio-fuel based economy from the big-city perspective. From the rural, relatively untouched Pantanal to the urban center of Sao Paolo, we will traverse both the land and the cultural fabric of south-central Brazil, viewing the communities we visit through the food/fuel/water lens.
 Credits: This program will offer a total of 6 credits, including five (5) credits of one of the following options, plus one (1) credit of GEN ST 392.
- EE400X: electrical engineering
- CEE498X: civil and environmental engineering
- ENVIR496 (NW)
- ENGR498B: other fields in engineering
- Students from all majors with an interest in biofuels and the balance among food, fuel, and water resources worldwide are invited to apply.
- Participants should check with their individual departments to understand how these credits can be best applied to their individual degrees.
Student costs:
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