10.2190/ENHD-AE8R-DTH2-T227 ENHDAE8RDTH2T227 6 Mesquite as an Energy Resource: Potential and Environmental Considerations 341 349 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 ENHDAE8RDTH2T227.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=ENHDAE8RDTH2T227 4 David Sugerman Gundars Rudzitis Urban Alternatives Department of Geography, University of Texas at Austin Recently, increased attention has been paid towards using alternative sources of energy. However, of the available alternatives little consideration has been given to the biomass potential of mesquite trees. This paper examines the feasibility, problems and prospects of using mesquite trees as a renewable energy resource in Southwestern states such as Texas. Lignite is also an energy resource which is expected in future years to provide a greater proportion of electric generating capacity in Texas. To put in perspective any estimates of mesquite potential as an alternative energy resource, a comparison is made between mesquite and lignite. The advantages and disadvantages of each are pointed out. D. Pimental, <i>et. al.</i>, Biomass Energy from Crop and Forest Residue, <i>Science</i>, June 5, 1981. E. S. Lipinsky, Chemicals from Biomass: Petrochemical Substitution Option, <i>Science</i>, June 20, 1981. P. H. Abelson, Energy from Biomass, <i>Science</i>, March 26, 1976. N. Cheremisnoff, P. N. Cheremisnoff, and F. Ellerbusch, <i>Biomass: Applications and Production</i>, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1980. H. R. Bungay, <i>Energy: The Biomass Option</i>, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1981. B. B. Simpson (ed.), <i>Mesquite: Its Ecology In Two Desert Ecosystems</i>, Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Stroudsberg, Pennsylvania, 1977. J. M. Kingsolver, <i>et. al.</i>, Prosopis Fruits As a Resource for Invertebrates, B. B. Simpson (ed.), <i>Mesquite: Its Ecology In Two Desert Ecosystems</i>, Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Stroudsberg, Pennsylvania, 1977. D. R. Harris, Recent Plant Invasion in the Arid and Semi-Arid Southwest of the United States, T. R. Detwyler (ed.), <i>Man's Impact on the Environment</i>, McGraw Hill, New York, 1971. C. A. Rechenthin, Water Robbers, <i>Cattleman</i>, March 1968. United States Department of Agriculture, A Chemical and Structural Study of Mesquite, Carob, and Honey Locust Beans, <i>Department Bulletin No. 1194</i>, December 22, 1923. C. E. Fisher, <i>etl al., Mesquite: Central and Use</i>, Texas A&M Agricultural Experimental Station, College Station, 1974. W. R. Kaiser, W. B. Ayers, and L. W. LaBrie, <i>Lignite Resources in Texas</i>, University of Texas, Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin, Texas, 1980. House Study Group, <i>Strip Mining in Texas</i>, Special Lesiglative Report No. 28, Texas House of Representatives, Austin, Texas, 1978. A. T. Wiley and F. G. Manwiller, Market Potential of Mesquite As Fuel, <i>Forest Products Journal, 26</i>:9, 1976. United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, <i>Draft Environmental Impact Statement Proposed Camp Swift Lignite Leasing</i>, New Mexico State Office, 1980. S. H. Schurr, <i>et. al., Energy in America's Future</i>, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1979. United States Council on Environmental Quality, <i>Environmental Quality, 1980, Appendix A</i>, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1980. P. Shabecoff, Poll Finds Strong Support for Environmental Code, <i>New York Times</i>, October 4, 1981. C. C. Burwell, Solar Biomass Energy: An Overview of U. S. Potential, <i>Science</i>, March 10, 1978. R. Stobaugh and D. Yergin (eds.), <i>Energy Futures</i>, Random House, New York, 1979. United States Department of Energy, <i>Wood Combustion Systems: Status of Environmental Concerns</i>, DOE/EV 0064, Washington, D. C., 1980. J. Gilmore and M. Duff, <i>Boom Town Growth Management: A Case Study Rock Springs - Green River Wyoming</i>, Westview Press, Boulder, 1975. C. Cortese and B. Jones, The Sociological Analysis of Boom Towns, <i>Western Sociological Review</i>, January 1977. F. L. Leistritz and S. H. Murdock, <i>The Socioeconomic Impact of Resource Development: Methods for Assessment</i>, Westview Press, Boulder, 1981. United Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, <i>Final Environmental Impact Statement Proposed Camp Swift Lignite Leasing</i>, New Mexico State Office, 1981. R. H. Gold, <i>A Comparative Study of the Impact of Coal Development on the Way of Life of People in the Coal Areas of Eastern Montana and Northeastern Wyoming</i>, Northern Great Plains Resource Program, Denver, 1974. R. Little, Energy Boom Towns: Views From Within, J. G. Jorgensen (ed.), <i>Native American and Energy Development</i>, Anthropology Resource Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1978. E. W. Zimmerman, <i>World Resources and Industries</i>, Harper and Row, New York, 1951.