Intelligentsia International, Inc. Offered Biofuel Program Assignments Website: www.intelligentsia-international.org Location: Intelligentsia Interna,onal, Inc. 132 North Lee Street LaBelle, FL 33935 USA Email: personnel@intelligentsia- interna,onal.org apply online
Who are we? Intelligentsia Interna,onal, Inc. offers its visitors an opportunity to experience the environmental, technical, social and recrea,onal diversity of Florida. In addi,on to eco- tourism and educa,onal exchange programs, par,cipants are also given an opportunity to help bring posi,ve change to the USA. Intelligentsia is a regional leader in promo,ng new approaches to environmental, water, energy and community ac,vism, as prac,ced in rural southwest Florida. The Intelligentsia par,cipant teams are a real force in transforming the USA. These unique experiences help prepare students and young professionals for meaningful careers in other parts of the world. Intelligentsia's ac,vi,es are very diverse, they are not equal only to typical student summer internships. Browse through our websites and feel free to contact us if our interna,onal prac,cal experience programs interest you. You may also apply online to our program. What projects are available to work on? A. Agro- Ecology Research Support...p.3 A6. Sustainable Sugarcane Farming Systems...p.3 A7. Analysis of Land Use for Biomass Produc,on...p.4 A8. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Subsidence of Organic Soils...p.5 A9. Farm Lands Water Storage for Everglades Restora,on...p.6 D. Other Assignments...p.7 D6. Biofuels Research Center Planning and Design...p.7 G. Energy Analysis...p.8 G1. Life Cycle Analysis of Biofuels Produc,on Systems...p.8 G2. Emergy (Embodied Energy) Analysis of Biofuels...p.9 G3. Biofuels Project Management & Repor,ng...p.10 G4. Biofuels Youth Programs...p.11 H. Water Recources...p.12 H9. Business Models for Farm Land Ecosystem Services...p.12 2
A6. Sustainable Sugarcane Farming Systems Program for Engineering, Agricultural Sciences, Economics, Journalism and other students Intelligentsia Interna,onal, together with University of Florida and Edison State College, U.S. Department of Energy have created the Hendry County Sustainable Biofuels Center. Mission of the new project is to ini,ate research, development, and educa,on programs related to biofuels, biomass farming and fuel conversion systems. The objec,ve of this assignment is to propose an alterna,ve, sustainable sugarcane farming system for south Florida. This new system should aim to provide mul,ple benefits, to balance various economic, social and ecological needs, address water storage, water flow, water quality, biodiversity, soil subsidence, carbon emissions, and biofuel produc,on. (specific task assignments are tailored to student's area of study) Research exis,ng sugarcane farming systems; Develop an alterna,ve, sustainable sugarcane farming system; Perform field research on new sugarcane varie,es; Analyze sugarcane ethanol life cycle (greenhouse gas emissions, water use, nutrient balance, etc.); Create and maintain related web sites and databases; Compare different sugarcane cul,va,on prac,ces and different biomass- ethanol conversion technologies; Inves,gate land use implica,ons of biofuels; Develop various public informa,on and educa,on campaigns; Deliver strategic proposals to real and poten,al partners. 3
A7. Analysis of Land Use for Biomass Production Program for Engineering, Agriculture, Environment, Planning, Hydrology, Science and other students One of the general goals of Intelligentsia Interna,onal is to propose an alterna,ve, sustainable sugarcane farming system for the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) in Florida. This system should aim to provide mul,ple benefits, to balance various economic, social and ecological needs. EAA farms must be redesigned to take complex environmental and economic considera,ons into account by balancing food produc,on with water storage, nutrient management, soil subsidence, energy efficiency, and habitat protec,on. Current EAA farming systems are simply a collec,on of Best Management Prac,ces (BMPs) with marginal benefits to water, soils, and nutrients. The future ones require a fundamental reassessment of the land use and crop yield expecta,ons. Valua,ons of ecosystem func,ons must be given equal weight in the land management designs. The State of Florida has purchased EAA lands with water storage and treatment in mind, so this affords opportuni,es to design new land use systems for sustainable food and energy produc,on. Research the background of land use systems typically used in EAA; Document rela,onships between water storage, crop choices, soils subsidence and greenhouse gases effects in the tradi,onal land use systems; Summarize current and planned land use systems in reports and websites; Consider the issues in complex manner and suggest alternate systems; Inves,gate land use implica,ons of biofuels under different land and water management scenarios; Develop a set of arguments to support your approach and quan,fy the benefits; Create and maintain related web sites and databases; Develop public informa,on and educa,on campaigns; Summarize all your findings in comprehensive reports. 4
A8. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Subsidence of Organic Soils Program for Engineering, Agriculture, Environment, Planning, Hydrology, Science and other students One of the general goals of Intelligentsia Interna,onal is to propose an alterna,ve, sustainable sugarcane farming system for the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA). This system should aim to provide mul,ple benefits, to balance various economic, social and ecological needs. More accurately, the system should address water storage, water flow, water quality, biodiversity, soil subsidence, carbon emissions, and biofuel produc,on. Muck soils in EAA contain a specific quan,ty of carbon. Certain amount of carbon is lost to the atmosphere during the current farming processes. It is a newly proposed farming system capable of storing more water than the currently used farming systems and can that way be reduced soil subsidence (oxida,on) and thus reduced carbon emissions? This is a complex issue, because for example sugarcane grown on muck soil captures CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, but the current process of draining muck soils also allows soil subsidence or oxida,on to occur, thus releasing CO2 back to the atmosphere. Muck soil subsidence can be reduced by flooding the soils and growing alterna,ve varie,es or crops, but this change too has nega,ve greenhouse effect implica,ons (e.g. in case rice rice is subs,tuted for sugarcane, then methane can be generated in the soil and is released to the atmosphere). Thus, the interrela,onships between sources and sinks of soil subsidence and greenhouse gases in a farming system need to be examined and theirs inves,ga,on is a main objec,ve of this prac,cal program. Study the background of Everglades restora,on programs; Document rela,onships between water storage, crop choices, soils subsidence and greenhouse gases effects in tradi,onal farming system in EAA; Summarize current and planned new approaches to address EAA's issues in reports and websites; Consider the EAA issues in complex environmental and economic manner and suggest addi,onal EAA's alternate farming systems; Develop a set of arguments to support your approach; Inves,gate land use implica,ons of biofuels under different scenarios; Quan,fy and document advantages and disadvantages of the newly proposed farming system rela,ve to food produc,on, nutrient management, soil subsidence, energy efficiency and habitat protec,on; Summarize all your findings in comprehensive reports. 5
A9. Farm Lands Water Storage for Everglades Restoration Program for Engineering, Agriculture, Environment, Planning, Hydrology Science and other students The Everglades faces long term threats that are both regional and global in scale. To yield las,ng benefits, Everglades restora,on programs must address the global challenge of producing food in a manner compa,ble with ecosystem protec,on. Given that south Florida is vulnerable to long term sea level rise and that major sources of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are land clearing and agriculture, it can be argued that if global compa,bility of agricultural and ecosystems is not achieved, than Everglades restora,on and the basic existence of south Florida are at risk. Removing farms and replacing them with water storage and treatment areas may be a logical local reac,on, but it does not resolve global- scale threats to the Everglades. Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) farms must be redesigned to take complex environmental and economic considera,ons into account by balancing food produc,on with water storage, nutrient management, soil subsidence, energy efficiency, and habitat protec,on. Objec,ve of this complex prac,cal assignment is to explore and address the need for drama,cally new EAA farming systems, the component challenges of crea,ng innova,ve farms, and how to develop research programs to meet the challenges. While the Everglades restora,on project can be considered local, the addressed challenges are global. Study the background of Everglades restora,on programs; Document current farm lands water storage approaches in EAA; Summarize current and planned new approaches in reports and websites; Consider the EAA issues in complex environmental and economic manner and suggest addi,onal EAA's alternate farming systems; Develop a set of arguments to support your approach; Quan,fy and document advantages and disadvantages of the newly proposed farm lands water storage rela,ve to food produc,on, nutrient management, soil subsidence, energy efficiency and habitat protec,on; Summarize all your findings in comprehensive reports. 6
D6. Biofuels Research Center Planning and Design Program for Architecture, Urban Planning, Engineering and other students The survival of Florida s biodiversity and economy is dependent on finding ways to balance farm economics with proper management of water and other natural resources. Taking on this challenge is the mandate of the Hendry County Sustainable Biofuels Center. The Center will be a place for research and teaching, will serve as the learning campus and visitors park. It should become the des,na,on where people come to learn about energy and environment in SW Florida. Final site of the Center has not be chosen yet, there are several op,ons to consider. Objec,ve of this prac,cal program is to evaluate different criteria for placing the Center (e.g. rela,ve to traffic and urban proximity, exis,ng buildings, land purchase for ini,al demonstra,on plots, etc.), develop the different proposed sites architectural designs and consider the site planning from different points of view. Review already developed design concepts of the Center; Get familiar with local, state and federal legisla,on to understand required regula,ons for crea,ng your own designs; Evaluate different criteria for placing the Center; Conduct field trips to collect needed data for evalua,ng selected sites, create comprehensive database of related photos and maps; Produce your new design concept drawings of the Center; Review your concept plans with professional architects and decision makers; Incorporate into your plan suggested improvements; According to the obtained feedback, improve your plans. 7
G1. Life Cycle Analysis of Biofuels Production Systems Program for Engineering, Agricultural Sciences, Economics and other students While many various educa,onal centers throughout the USA are working to develop biofuels technologies and build demonstra,on farms and factories, only few are focused on advancing the environmental sustainability of biofuels produc,on and processing. This thus gives an unique mandate to the Hendry County Sustainable Biofuels Center as a leader among programs of its kind in Florida and the na,on. Main objec,ves of the offered prac,cal program are to research exis,ng sugarcane farming systems typical of south Florida (and other produc,on areas) and analyze sugarcane ethanol life cycle (LCA) from water, energy and carbon perspec,ves. "Tradi,onal" and "alterna,ve" sugarcane cul,va,on and ethanol conversion technologies have a range of environmental and economical implica,ons that are not fully inves,gated yet. This prac,cal program thus opens door to new, not very explored fields of scien,fic research and environmental sustainability approaches. Research exis,ng biofuels (sugarcane) farming systems typical of south Florida and other produc,on areas; Analyze sugarcane ethanol life cycle (LCA) from water, energy and carbon perspec,ves; Assess the impact of sugarcane biofuels produc,on from ini,al produc,on to final disposal; Compare various "tradi,onal" and "alterna,ve" sugarcane cul,va,on and ethanol conversion technologies; Quan,fy the different technologies pros and cons and document the findings in a comprehensive report; Suggest modifica,ons to exis,ng LCA methodology and procedures in order to improve decision- suppor,ng tools in produc,on of biofuels; Create new and maintain exis,ng related websites. 8
G2. Emergy (Embodied Energy) Analysis of Biofuels Program for Engineering, Agricultural Sciences, Economics and other students Biofuels have been presented as an important op,on for energy supply, notably as renewable subs,tutes for fossil fuels. By many they are considered a renewable and endless resource, since they are produced from biomass, reputed as renewable. Besides, it is a current believe that, by replacing oil products, their use could reduce greenhouse gases emissions. Yet, there are voices that point out that any biomass produc,on and industrial transforma,on requires the use of fossil fuel energy, in the form of fer,lizers, agrochemicals, machinery, and for inputs and raw material transporta,on. Besides that, monoculture might result in soil degrada,on, natural ecosystem destruc,on and a compe,,on among energy and food crops for arable land. Embodied Energy Analysis (Emergy) is being used to evaluate the energy requirements involved in the produc,on of biofuels. Main objec,ves of the offered prac,cal program is to assess the sustainability of ethanol produced from sugarcane and examine the environmental feasibility of a large- scale produc,on through the use of embodied energy analysis and assessment. Research exis,ng biofuels (sugarcane) farming systems typical of south Florida and other produc,on areas; Evaluate biofuels produc,on systems, considering all the inputs necessary to drive a process; Quan,fy the needed inputs, such as nature s contribu,ons (water, soil, biodiversity, etc.) and the the human economy contribu,ons (chemicals, machinery, fuel, etc.); Calculate and convert the input/output values of the ethanol produc,on in various func,onal units (e.g. 1 kg of sugarcane, 1 liter of ethanol, etc.); Assess the sustainability of ethanol produced from sugarcane; Examine the environmental and economical feasibility through the use of Emergy Assessment; Create new and maintain exis,ng related websites. 9
G3. Biofuels Project Management & Reporting Program for Program for Engineering & Science, Water Management, Environmental Sciences, Business Management, Economics, Journalism, PoliAcal & Social Sciences, InternaAonal Development, Law and other students The Hendry County Sustainable Biofuels Center addresses the basic science and technology needs of biofuels development. Its management implements standard methods and policies for tasks and deliverables related to research, teaching, and extension missions. However, thanks to its unique new aims, the Center also needs proper management and repor,ng of its various subprojects. The main objec,ve of this prac,cal experience program is to improve management, administra,on and coordina,on of issues dealt with within the Hendry County Sustainable Biofuels Center. The Center focus is rather wide, as it includes e.g. specialized technical research on biofuels and food produc,on, educa,onal training, public and poli,cal outreach, etc. A future manager, able to coordinate topics from several different technical disciplines is needed for this posi,on. Could it be you? Get acquainted with ongoing technical projects within the Hendry County Sustainable Biofuels Research Center; Interact with network of various coopera,ng project partners (e.g. Edison State College, University of Florida, etc.); Plan mee,ngs, seminars, educa,onal events and other similar ac,vi,es; Suggest improvements to projects scheduling, repor,ng, staffing, funding, etc.; Develop newslepers, brochures, leaflets, presenta,ons and similar promo,onal materials; Learn ways how to handle various administra,ve and management issues related to the assigned projects; Based on delivered products feedback, improve coordina,on procedures and document the new findings in project related SOPs and websites. 10
G4. Biofuels Youth Programs Program for PoliAcal & Social Sciences, EducaAon and other students The Hendry County Sustainable Biofuels Center is supposed to provide workforce development services through its involvement in educa,onal and professional skills development at the regional high schools, colleges, and youth centers, thus a Career Academy for Agriscience will be established. Career academies are small, personalized learning communi,es within a high school that select a subset of students and teachers. Developing this Career Academy for Agriscience is main objec,ve of this prac,cal program. Its unique aspect will be an effort to help students bridge the perceptual divide that hampers so much of the larger world's efforts to find systems of food and fuel produc,on that is sustainable and compa,ble with ecosystem protec,on goals. Actually, some of the preliminary explora,ons of biofuels and farming systems have been accomplished by our former par,cipants already. It needs to be further developed and taught to the new genera,on students, so they also can experience first hand the process of research and the applica,on of new technologies to agriculture and fuel produc,on. Research exis,ng biofuels (sugarcane) farming systems typical of south Florida and other produc,on areas; Research current environmental educa,on curricula of the Florida Department of Educa,on Career Academy programs; Inves,gate students' interests and design Career Academy for Agriscience new educa,onal ac,vi,es; Help students become more involved and aware of related issues; Incorporate these new ac,vi,es (tours, workshops, educa,onal events, etc.) into educa,on curricula; S,mulate students' interests in management of natural resources and further studies of the topic; Create new and maintain exis,ng related websites. 11
H9. Business Models for Farm Land Ecosystem Services Program for Engineering, Ecology, Agricultural Sciences, Economics and other students Everglades Ecosystem Restora,on is the largest and most ambi,ous environmental restora,on project in the US history. The project includes restoring wetlands, lowering agricultural produc,on, revitalizing water quality, reviving the habitats for endangered and threatened species. However, for south Florida ecosystems restora,on solu,ons to be viable over their actual implementa,on,me frame, these solu,ons must address problems Florida will face 50 years from now as well as the problems of today. The threats to the ecosystem are global, not just local - e.g. elimina,ng Florida farms (and thus reducing nutrients load flowing to Everglades) simply moves agricultural produc,on overseas to na,ons using less environmentally- sensi,ve prac,ces, subs,tu,ng overseas agricultural for domes,c produc,on contributes to global environmental threats and thus yields no net ecological benefit at all. By adding an ecosystem services components to the agricultural business model in Everglades Restora,on Area, farm lands can serve both restora,on and economic goals effec,vely and efficiently. Main objec,ve of this prac,cal program is to focus on developing sustainable systems that deliver both agricultural produc,on and environmental services. Inves,gate sustainable farming systems used elsewhere, evaluate theirs pros and cons; Provide an ini,al environmental and economic assessment of the inves,gated area/proper,es; Research a legisla,ve framework for water, soil, nutrients, greenhouse gas, etc. trading by conserving the value of the farms land, as well as its con,nued capacity for produc,on; Suggest new farming systems that combine revenues derived e.g. from crop sales, waste by- products, carbon credits, water storage, nutrients removal, wildlife habitat, etc. Prepare innova,ve financing mechanisms that can be used to jump- start markets for environmental services; Evaluate ecosystem services components of agricultural business models to quan,fy environmental impacts criteria (such as Environmental Sustainability Index, Environmental Loading Ra,o, Ecological Footprint, Green Biofuels Index, etc.) Based on partnerships you'll cul,vate, develop a pool of financial, conserva,on, and legal exper,se; Increase public awareness of the economic importance of ecosystem services and the impacts of their loss. 12