Course: BFM 101 Biofuels Fundamentals

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Assignment

This unit is an adapted extract from the Open University Course S173 Plants and People.
Professor Somerville Assignment

If you cannot see the audio player above, click here to download and listen to the audio.

In this activity you should listen to the nine-minute audio clip in which Professor Chris Somerville, a global leader in biofuel research, discusses the potential of biofuels, and then answer the following questions.
[You may find it helpful to listen to the clip once, then read the questions before going back to listen to the clip again, pausing where appropriate to make notes.]
1. What crops did Prof. Somerville think would have the biggest potential for acting as biofuels?
2. In his view what are the biggest misconceptions about biofuels?
3. What percentage of land worldwide is currently (as of 2010) used for agriculture and what percentage for biofuel production?
4. What percentage of their transportation fuel do Brazilians obtain from biofuel sources?
5. If the Brazilians scaled up their biofuel production, by intensifying the land used for cattle production, what percentage of the world’s transportation fuels does Prof. Somerville estimate that Brazil could produce?
6. What is his ‘take home’ message about the advantages of biofuels over fossil fuels?
7. Did Prof. Somerville feel that biofuels are the single answer to the world’s diminishing fuel availability, and if not, why not?

Once you have completed the assignment go to the Dropbox Folder in the Content Menu and click on "Dropbox: Professor Somerville Assignment” to learn how to submit the assignment.

This unit is an adapted extract from the Open University Course S173 Plants and People.