ABSTRACT
Biofuel sustainability has environmental, economic, and social facets that all interconnect. A cellulosic biofuels industry could have many positive social and environmental attributes, but it could also suffer from many of the sustainability issues that hobble grain-based biofuels, if not implemented the right way. Management practices, including crop choice, intensity of inputs, and harvesting strategy, also will have a strong influence on the sustainability of cellulosic biofuels. The identification of unintended consequences early in the development of alternative fuel strategies will help to avoid costly mistakes and regrets about the effects on the environment. Decision makers at all levels need to understand that applying best available practices to biofuel crop production will have positive impacts both on the sustainability of our working lands and on providing a long-term place for biofuels in our renewable energy portfolio – and that the policies necessary to ensure this outcome are not currently in place.
