Energy and agriculture: Making it work

Agriculture can be a big part of the energy solution, but only if it becomes less reliant on imported energy inputs through sustainable farming practices.
Leopold Center - Energy and agriculture: Making it work - Spring 2005 Leopold Letter:

'A typical community spends 20 percent of its gross annual income on energy and 80 percent of that leaves the community,' Lovins explained. 'If you're looking for ways to ways to revitalize your community, look no further than your light switch.'

Farms can provide both alternative means of power -- wind, solar, biomass fuel -- and become a source of on-farm income, all within the local economy. Lovins added that wind energy is growing rapidly in the Midwest 'for very good economic reasons.'

'Around the world, wind power is the fast growing electric supply, delivering over 5 gigawatts of new energy every year,' she said. 'Wind is one of the cheapest sources of new electricity -- very competitive with natural gas turbines.'

She noted that although Iowa leads the nation in the production of ethanol at a million gallons annually, there's still room for growth. Germany produces 750 million gallons of ethanol each year, she said.

'What's going on in Iowa with the production of ethanol and other bio-based fuels for the production of energy and other products is really exciting but we need to do it sustainably,' she warned. 'If not, we can easily substitute one problem for another.'