Agriculture is a huge business that plays a
dominant role in the economy and politics of many states, and this is reflected in the
Congress as well. However, the agriculture
sector was not part of the economic expansion of the late 90’s, with commodity prices
reaching all time lows. EESI’s strategy
is to have agriculture -- substantively and politically – become part of any climate change
mitigation strategy. Enormous opportunities
exist for developing rural America
’s clean energy resources, including
bioenergy (the
production of electricity, useable heat, or liquid fuels from biomass), wind, solar, and energy efficiency. Yet there exists a tremendous knowledge gap among
policymakers, farmers, and other key stakeholders about these opportunities. EESI seeks to educate policymakers about the
potential economic development, energy security, and environmental benefits of tapping
these resources. This requires building
alliances between rural and urban policymakers by demonstrating that both constituencies
stand to benefit from renewable energy development.
The environmental community also needs to be
engaged in this effort, which requires significant outreach aimed at addressing some
persistent misconceptions about biofuels and bioenergy. At
the same time, farmers and agricultural stakeholders must be educated about new federal
incentives for renewable energy development, and how to access them.
Click here for more about the Agriculture & Energy
program.
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