Cuts could stall MSU research

MSU chemical engineering professor Dennis Miller spends his days researching a seed 1/16th of an inch in diameter. The canola seed, which can be used to produce biodiesel, could be one answer to achieving energy independence, he said. “Every gallon of fuel we use is one less gallon that we have to import,” he said. “It’s a very good answer to Gov. Granholm’s objectives of being energy independent.”

Miller’s research, sponsored by MSU’s Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, or MAES, can further Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s agenda of creating a green economy in Michigan. But if Granholm’s proposed funding cuts go through, future projects like Miller’s may have difficulty securing funding.

During her State of the State address earlier this month, Granholm proposed a 45-by-20 plan, calling for Michigan to reduce its dependency on imported fuels by 45 percent by the year 2020. In proposing her budget just more than a week later, she recommended consolidating the MSU Extension program and MAES and cutting their state funding by 50 percent, or $32 million.

MAES is directly involved in conducting and supporting important research on biofuels. MSU Extension then assists in translating those research findings for use by companies, businesses and jobs, said Tom Coon, director of MSU Extension.

“We can’t accomplish that goal that (Granholm) set … if we take this kind of cut to our budgets. It’s simply impossible,” Coon said.

State funding is the largest single resource for both MSU Extension and MAES, he said.

MSU Extension receives about 33 percent of its roughly $200 million in annual funding from state appropriations, followed by 30 percent from grants and 9 percent from federal funding.

State funding cuts would probably affect about 70 percent of Extension’s biodiesel and renewable energy programs, Coon said. And if state funding reduces the size of the programs, Extension could risk losing federal funding, too.

“I don’t know how we would live up to the $50 million grant we get from the U.S. Department of Energy,” he said.

Liesl Clark, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth, said these programs are important tools, but cutting their funding should not affect the 45-by-20 plan.

“The goal will still be able to be reached,” Clark said. “It’s aggressive, and will certainly take help from all parts of the state.”

Although MSU’s satellite programs will face significant cuts, research geared toward the 45-by-20 plan will not be cut, said Megan Brown, a spokeswoman for Granholm.

“The portions of these programs that are specific to helping us meet this energy goal are specifically protected,” she said.

“Our energy independence is very important.”

Charles McKeown, manager of Land Use Informatics at MSU’s Land Policy Institute, said state budget cuts will probably not stop research from being done by the MAES, but the cuts could make it more difficult to put the research to real-world use.

“The ability to get the research out in hands of people through Extension is the part that’s the most worrisome,” he said.

MSU researchers held several workshops in December to educate local policy planners about the best zoning practices regarding commercial wind energy, another area of research Granholm has advocated. About 1,000 people attended, McKeown said.

“That is important to make sure things get mobilized,” he said. “And that’s the type of program that starts to get cut.”