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by Kate J. Neville (Author)
A series of concurrent pressures in the early 2000s--climate change, financial system crashes, economic development in rural regions, and shifts in geopolitics--intensified interest in alternative energy production. At the same time, rising oil prices rendered alternative fuels a more economically viable option. Among these energy sources, liquid biofuels (bioethanol and biodiesel) and natural gas derived from hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") took center stage as promising commodities and technologies. But controversy quickly erupted in surprisingly similar ways around both renewable fuels. Global enthusiasm for these fuels--and the widespread projections for their production around the world--collided with local politics in debates over "food versus fuel" and concerns over "land grabs." What seemed, from a global perspective, like empty lands ripe for development were, to rural communities, vibrant and already contested spaces. As proposals for biofuels and fracking landed in
specific communities and ecosystems, they reignited and reshaped old disputes over land, water, and decision-making authority.
Author Biography
Kate J. Neville is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, where she is cross-appointed to the Department of Political Science and the School of the Environment. Her research is positioned at the intersection of contentious politics and global political economy, with a focus on contested energy and extractive projects.
