The composition and impact of stakeholders' agendas on US ethanol production

The polarization of public opinion on biofuels in North America: key drivers and future trends

“…It would appear, then, that Americans tend to question bio-ethanol's effectiveness as a climate mitigation tool as well as the scalability of the industry. This is likely, at least in part, a result of the increased coverage of the food vs. fuel debate and the geopolitical and domestic political implications of biofuels in US media in the mid-to-late 2000s [18,28], and suggests that "ethanol" is equated with corn-based ethanol by many Americans.…”

What drives public acceptance of second-generation biofuels? Evidence from Canada

“…As we argue below, however, public attitudes towards biofuels in both the United States and Canada are based on relatively low levels of information about the technology, and are therefore relatively weak and subject to change [6]. Indeed, other work has shown that while U.S. consumers' attitudes towards corn-based ethanol were initially positive, support declined over time as the potential economic, social, and environmental costs of the technology were pointed out by those opposed to biofuels policies [10,12]. It is possible, then, that as North American consumers become more familiar with cellulosic ethanol and are exposed to arguments that oppose its widespread adoption, approval for this type of biofuel could also decline in the coming years, which could threaten the future of the biofuels industry in North America.…”

“…They were asked to express their approval for the following three policies on a seven point scale ranging from "Strongly Disapprove" at 1 to "Strongly Approve" at 7: a) the federal renewable fuel content mandate ("The federal government requires that transportation fuel have a 5% bioethanol content in gasoline and a 2% biodiesel content 1 While published estimates suggest that biofuels-related landuse changes may actually result in increased greenhouse gas emissions [32], arguments focused on the environmental benefits of adopting biofuels in the transportation sector dominated early public debates on the issue [10,12]. in diesel fuel"; M ¼ 4.9, SD ¼ 1.6), b) federal subsidies for biofuels producers ("The federal government provides subsidies such as tax credits to certain agricultural groups to develop biofuels"; M ¼ 4.7, SD ¼ 1.7), and c) provincial fuel content mandates ("Several provinces have their own bioethanol and biodiesel fuel content requirements that are as high or higher than the federal mandate"; M ¼ 4.7, SD ¼ 1.6).…”

The Growth of Biofuels in the 21st Century

“…Talamini et al (2012), in their research, identify three different sources of information -journalists (mass media), scientists (research publications) and the government (public policy documents). They analysed, in total, over 3300 documents, published between 1997 and 2006.…”