Farming for Fuel: The Political Economy of Energy Sources in the United States

As domestic and worldwide petroleum reserves dwindle, America's energy situation continues to worsen. Farming for Fuel offers a major investigation into producing methanol from biomass to replace reliance on petroleum fuels. Dovring's treatment of the topic is thorough and well-reasoned. He suggests that current problems facing the U.S.--vulnerable oil imports, farm surplus production, soil erosion, and air polution--could be eradicated by methanol production on a large scale. The proposed solution, if adopted, would also bring about profound changes in the national economy, including more decentralized industrial location. Dovring's conclusions are revolutionary, challenging general agreement on methanol use, future energy supplies, and energy policy. His innovative work will supply policy-makers and academics with a unified perspective on energy problems and an up-to-date summary of recent data.