On Oct. 24, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released its biennial report stating that humans are using natural resources at an unprecedented rate. According to the report, unless humans decrease their use of natural resources by 2050, they will significantly overshoot earth's capacity and will be using double the amount of available resources such as energy, food and oil.

Penn State, as well as the Pennsylvania government, is looking for ways to thwart the energy problem.

A national initiative, "25 x '25," introduced last spring and endorsed by Governor Ed Rendell hopes to derive 25 percent of energy from renewable resources by 2025.

In August, Penn State created the Biomass Energy Center and joined a number of Penn State environmental research institutes in developing renewable energy resources.

These institutes are from different colleges within the university. This includes the Energy Institute and Penn State Institute of the Environment.

Biomass includes any previously living organic material including crops, switchgrass, trees, manure and other organic waste materials.

Biomass Energy Center director Tom Richard said he hopes the opening of the center combined with the tremendous energy and environmental research on campus will have an impact on society. Richard says he believes "25 x '25" is "an aggressive goal that will require aggressive action."

"The greatest challenge of the Biomass Energy Center," Richard said, "will be to get the university, industry and government to work together."

He said Pennsylvania is fortunate to have a very supportive state government.

The Energy Institute will assist the Biomass Energy Center in conducting research on biofuels. Where the Biomass Energy Center has expertise in growing crops and converting them to ethanol and biofuels, according to the interim director of the Energy Institute, Alan Scaroni, the Energy Institute "concentrates on engine performance and how to optimize combustion of fuel to improve efficiency and reduce emissions."

"The university is showing considerable foresight in addressing the challenges to society while focusing its efforts on bioenergy," Scaroni said. "Energy is high on the research agenda of the university."

On a social level the greatest challenge will be to get the population to use energy more efficiently, especially in the areas of transportation, housing and industrial processes Richard said. Technology has a lot of catching up to do, but improvement in biomass crops are being explored daily in the university's research labs, Richard said.

One of the main goals of this research, Richard added, is improving plant characteristics and yield.

"We will have to integrate biomass energy synthesis with food and fiber production," Richard said. "We will also need to be able to produce both food and biomass crops on the same land."

Scaroni said a major breakthrough in biomass technology is needed if the nation is to meet the goal of "25 x '25."

Currently, biofuels are receiving government subsidies, which help keep their prices at or below the prices of gas, Richard said. In the long run, biofuels will be significantly cheaper to the consumer, he added.

Scaroni said even if gas prices fall, it will not minimize the need to do research on biomass because biomass is a renewable and sustainable resource.

In September, a report called "A Strategic Energy Initiatve for Penn State: Findings of the 2006 Energy Task Force" proposed three initiatives for the university, including the development of courses in energy, a comprehensive research program in energy, engineering and policy, and an extensive outreach program.

The Energy Task Force also suggested the university require students to complete one general education course in energy science, technology and society.

"Our existing trajectory of technology and consumption is not sustainable; a sustainable bioenergy system has to be built on a sustainable agriculture system," Richard said. "If we don't start using renewable energy, we cannot provide a higher standard of living."