Social Sustainability of Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems

Abstract

Social sustainability is the capacity to create personal, social, political and economic environments that facilitate healthy human existence as part of the entire global ecosystem [1]. As cropping systems are changed to produce cellulosic energy crops, there will often be accompanying changes in land use, personal, group and community opportunities. Moving crops or cropland from food to fuel use means creation of new value chains that have implications not only for the individuals involved but also on the interactions among individuals within the surrounding communities. These changes will likely have differential impacts on human communities depending upon their magnitude and implementation strategy. Interactions among individuals, which are crucial for mutual support, will ultimately determine social sustainability and acceptance of these new systems. Incorporating cellulosic energy crops into traditional cropping systems faces many physical, economic, and environmental challenges, as outlined in other chapters. But perhaps an even more important challenge that is often overlooked is how these new systems are organized and operated. Paying attention to these social implications is crucial for increasing the sustainability of healthy social structures in ways that will encourage humans to embrace and act on the goal of having a sustainable, well-functioning planet.Social sustainability operates on many levels -the individual, the family, the community, ethnic and racial groups, politics, the economy, and local, national and international Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems, First Edition. Edited by Douglas L. Karlen.