A Sociological Look at Biofuels: Ethanol in the Early Decades of the Twentieth Century and Lessons for Today

Autor/in	Carolan, Michael S.
Titel	A Sociological Look at Biofuels: Ethanol in the Early Decades of the Twentieth Century and Lessons for Today
Quelle	In: Rural Sociology, 74 (2009) 1, S.86-112 (27 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0036-0112
Schlagwörter	Fuels; Agricultural Occupations; Fuel Consumption; Energy; Global Approach; United States + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Treibstoff; Agriculture; Occupation; Landwirtschaft; Beruf; Landwirtschaftlicher Beruf; Benzinverbrauch; Energie; Globales Denken; USA
Abstract	This article develops a broad sociological understanding of why biofuels lost out to leaded gasoline as the fuel par excellence of the twentieth century, while drawing comparisons with biofuels today. It begins by briefly discussing the fuel-scape in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, examining the farm chemurgic movement, New Deal agricultural policies, mechanization trends within agriculture, and, finally, the invention of leaded gasoline. The second half of the article applies insights from that historical analysis to the biofuel craze currently under way. By employing a political-economy interpretation of the socioeconomic context combined with a path-dependency-informed analysis of the technological trajectories, the article reveals the social forces that structured the trends and outcomes in biofuel innovations across the two eras. (Contains 4 footnotes.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Rural Sociological Society. 104 Gentry Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211-7040. Tel: 573-882-9065; Fax: 573-882-1473; e-mail: ruralsoc@missouri.edu; Web site: http://www.ruralsociology.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10