1. Dwindling petroleum reserves, i.e. the so-called ancient plant biomass, force humankind tocarefully consider our future energy needs and energy solutions. Please consider, research, andanswer the following questions. You must support each answer with at least one primary researchpaper, and when applicable and or desired, one scientific review publication. Be sure to give full bibliographic information for each answer. You may also include web-based information (non-journalpublished), but this should be done only sparingly and must be completely referenced (e.g. website andweb-page date, authors, etc.).
a. What, in your informed opinion, are two most likely-to-be primary renewable energy sources that willpredominate over the next 50 years? Justify your answer based on scientific data and thoughtfulevaluation.
b. How much land in the U.S. can sustainably be used to grow bioenergy crops? Is there sufficient landto grow sufficient biomass to produce the 36 billion gallons per year of biofuels the government has setas a goal to be met by 2022?
c. As discussed in class, there is active research toward increasing the yield of fermentable sugars in particular plants. Discuss specific plants that have been targeted for this research. Why were theseplants targeted and what advantages do they have over other plants?
d. What major polymers are present in the cell walls of the plants you described in (c)? What key research findings must be made in order to more efficiently produce low-cost energy from these polymers?