Tracey Osborne

Tracey Osborne is a PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley, researching the politics of sugar and the potential for ethanol production in the Caribbean. Her dissertation will analyze the political, economic and environmental ramifications of decisions to substitute an export commodity for a renewable energy crop. Greater and more efficient use of biomass energy resources can have substantial local and global environmental benefits, while allowing many Caribbean countries to maintain foreign exchange formerly spent on oil imports. Lessons learned from this research can be useful to other sugar-producing developing countries, by shedding light on how biomass resources can contribute to cost-effective and sustainable energy use. Tracey has a Master's degree in Food and Resource Economics from the University of Florida, and has worked with a number of environmental NGOs on issues ranging from tropical deforestation to global climate change.