We are particularly interested in the productive capacity of rural America to respond
to the economic, social, and environmental challenges as food, energy, natural resources,
and ecosystem services become globally scarcer. These economic drivers will be increasingly
important for creating economic opportunity and improving the quality of life for
rural Americans.
Our ecosystems provide a range of essential services, such as drought and flood
mitigation, river and coastal erosion, pest control, soil preservation, air and
water purification, and crop pollination. The role that markets play in restoring,
enhancing, and protecting the ecosystems so that these services can provide economic
opportunities for rural people and places is of particular interest to the Rural
Futures Lab. MORE »
Multiple approaches to energy conservation, renewable energy production, and new
forms of fossil fuel extraction are already being implemented and debated, with
substantial impacts both positive and negative being felt by rural communities.
Renewable energy appears to offer significant economic development opportunities
for rural America. MORE »
Concerns about recent spikes in food prices, the environmental outcomes of industrial-style
food production and processing, emerging inequities in food distribution, and public
health problems associated with consumption patterns have led to new ideas our food
system. In particular, local and regional food systems have been re-emerging within
the American food system as communities and consumers test out what they hope are
sustainable ways to move food from farm to table. MORE »
Natural landscapes, amenities, and resources are at the heart of American identity
and its economy. How the intense competition for land and water plays out will have
long-lasting impact on the economy and environment of rural communities across the
nation. MORE »