Right now my work focuses on water use; specifically, consumers’ preferences for preventing agricultural water transfers and resulting “ag dry-up” that would hinder further potential for biofuel feedstocks to be grown in Colorado.

Discrete Choice Modeling is a method used to solicit consumers’ values for non-market goods or policies. It is based on random utility theory, the idea that the welfare a consumer receives is a function of the attributes/outcomes associated with a good’s consumption. To carry out a discrete choice experiment, policy options are broken down into attributes, and an experimental survey design is created where the respondent is asked which of a given combination of the attributes they would choose. These combinations are created in such a way to allow for estimation of econometric models, and the parameters estimated show how a change in the level of a given attribute impacts the welfare of the respondent. In short, it’s a way for us to determine how much consumers value policies, like preservation of water for agricultural use, and those values can be used to inform policy making.

Well described- thank you.

Many improved biomass cookstove designs have been developed and been shown to reduce emissions of pollutants, such as carbon monoxide and particulate matter, compared to a basic open fire. However, more work needs to be done to: 1) design stoves that reduce emissions even further to reduce health risks to users, 2) ensure that these new stoves are more efficient and affordable so that users will be able to purchase them and experience savings resulting from reduced fuel use, and, 3) ensure that these stoves are able to maintain low levels of emissions while performing whatever cooking tasks users need them to perform based on local culture and diet.

We have decided to approach this problem by first seeking to better understand the combustion process occurring inside these stoves. Once we have gained a clear understanding of what is required to achieve low emissions and robust performance, we can work on combining these requirements with requirements related to cost and user needs.

Thank you

The diversity of the individual projects reflects on the fact that bioenergy is a regionally and politically defined enterprise. Bioenergy demands in the United States are different than those in Cameroon, and even vary within the respective nations. Our individual projects showcase this diversity. We are not proposing a linear production pathway; however, the broader implications of all of our efforts are united by environmental sustainability. A better understanding of photosynthesis can lead to major improvements in biomass productivities across photosynthetic taxa, subsequently minimizing the potential environmental damages associated with indirect land use change. Design of improved biomass cookstoves is largely driven by a desire to improve conversion efficiencies to ease increasing demand on forest or other local biomass resources. Large-scale projects such as bioenergy production are unsustainable over the long term without sound public support, and economic evaluation can help bridge the gap between technological opportunities and stated public goals, such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental sustainability is the critical link between our experiments.

This is an interesting perspective! While some macroalgae have been cultivated for centuries for food purposes, they are not generally front-runners for algal biomass production. Nevertheless, dewatering and insect predation remain significant challenges for microalgae biomass production.

Large-scale centrifugation can work for dewatering, but is energy intensive. Broad research efforts have tackled this problem. Biologically, engineered strains of cyanobacteria have been designed to secrete hydrophobic free fatty acids, which can aggregate at the surface of the media and can reduce the energy requirements for separation. Engineers have designed systems to condense cell densities before centrifugation, which reduces energy demands. These innovations could improve the practicality of algal biofuel production.

Open production of microalgae can crash if insect grazers take hold of the culture. That being said, large-scale microalgae cultures have and continue to produce nutraceuticals using these open systems. More recently, separation of the culture from the environment has proven successful in preventing these crashes, but increase operating costs of the facility. Insect populations can compromise productivities, but may be managed by environmental or production facility conditions.

Thanks Michael, it was interesting to learn a bit more about how insects may interact with people’s algae crop.

Personally, I think a combination of these factors stall dissemination, but consumer adoption may be the primary limiting factor. Yes, technologies need to improve to the point where they are cost-competitive; however, we also see cases where consumers don’t adopt new technologies even when it would be economically favorable for them to do so. In these instances, we need to borrow from psychology, behavioral economics, and the energy/water conservation literature to understand how perceptions and habit formation impact consumer choice.

Overall, I would agree with Janine’s analysis. While technological improvements would presumably favor enhanced development of bioenergy projects by reducing costs, consumer preferences will dictate implementation. For example, while GM foods have been produced for decades, food-labeling advocates recently have been challenging the product’s supermarket anonymity. This may lead to a reduction of GM crops, despite productivity losses and increased environmental impacts. Positive social perception of a given technology is critical for large-scale development.

Thanks for your comment! Learning more about the interaction between technology and policy has been rewarding and has strongly influenced my perspective on communicating science.