Socioeconomic and environmental impacts of biofuels : evidence from developing nations /

While global production of biofuels continues to expand, the debate over its efficacy in combating climate change rages on. Gasparatos (Biodiversity Institute, Univ. of Oxford, UK) and Stromberg (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency) offer a collection of articles drawn from ecologists, environmental scientists, engineers, and economists to provide a comprehensive overview of this debate. The contributors address policy concerns over food versus fuel, air and water pollution, and the potential for direct and indirect land-use change leading to deforestation. As much of the expansion of biofuels is expected to occur in developing nations, the editors focus on three major regions of development: Asia, Africa, and Brazil. This publication would be a useful companion text in an advanced undergraduate or graduate course examining the tradeoffs associated with environmental protection. See also, Food versus Fuel: An Informed Introduction to Biofuels, ed. by Frank Rosillo-Calle and Francis X. Johnson (CH, Aug'11, 48-6858); and National Research Council of the National Academies Press, Renewable Fuel Standard: Potential Economic and Environmental Effects of U.S. Biofuel Policy (CH, Jul'12, 49-6308), which is available online . Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through research collections. K. S. Evans St. Lawrence University