ABSTRACT
Interest in using biomass feedstocks to produce power, liquid fuels, and chemicals in the United States is increasing. Perhaps this increased interest has been stoked by a recent statement by John Hofmeister, who said that, “Americans could be paying $5 for a gallon of gasoline by 2012” (Segall, 2010). In that same article, Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst with Oil Price Information Service, stated that the “wolf is out there and it’s going to be at the door. … I agree with [Hofmeister] that we’ll see those numbers at some point this decade but not yet” (Segall, 2010). Paul Thompson (2008) warned that “for years, the experts have been warning of the dangers of oil depletion. They have been accused of crying wolf. This time, the wolf really is at the door.” Statements such as these catch our attention and make us aware of a pending dilemma-the realization that cheap, readily accessible oil and oil products are a thing of the past with a future best characterized as uncertain at best.
