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Biofuel Development from Cellulosic Sources

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Ecology and the Environment

Part of the book series: The Plant Sciences ((PLANTSCI,volume 8))

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Introduction

Nonrenewable natural resources such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas have long been exploited for energy consumption due to their historic relative abundance, versatility, transportability, and low cost. However, global reserves of these raw materials are finite and are rapidly decreasing as global demand for energy increases. Extracting and using these energy sources can also have many negative environmental consequences. For example, fossil fuel combustion releases geologically stored carbon and other pollutants into the atmosphere, including greenhouse gases that cause climate change, indirectly damage ozone, contribute to acid deposition, and cause ocean acidification (Schlesinger and Bernhardt 2013). The physical exploitation of these fuels also damages the earth’s surface layers, contaminates watersheds, and occasionally results in accidental marine contamination. Overall, the depletion of fossil fuel reserves, increasing global demand for energy, and the adverse...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Biology, Kansas State University, 116 Ackert Hall, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA

    Kimberly O’Keefe

  2. Department of Biology, Saint Joseph’s University, Science Center 224, 5600 City Ave, Philadelphia, PA, 19131, USA

    Clint J. Springer

  3. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA

    Jonathan Grennell & Sarah C. Davis

Authors
  1. Kimberly O’Keefe
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  2. Clint J. Springer
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  3. Jonathan Grennell
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  4. Sarah C. Davis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kimberly O’Keefe .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Resources and the Environment and Laboratory for Tree Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA

    Russell K. Monson

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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O’Keefe, K., Springer, C.J., Grennell, J., Davis, S.C. (2014). Biofuel Development from Cellulosic Sources. In: Monson, R. (eds) Ecology and the Environment. The Plant Sciences, vol 8. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7501-9_9

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