Imagine you are an executive working for a company that distributes books to bookstores in the Seattle, Washington, area. Your company, with a 20,000-squarefoot warehouse and a fleet of 15 small delivery vans, employs 75 people. The following are three questions that an academic researcher specializing in energy issues might focus on in her research. Translate each of these academic questions into a workplace question that your company might need to answer.

a. What are the principal problems that need to be resolved before biomass (such as switchgrass) can become a viable energy source for cars and trucks?

b. How much money will need to be invested in the transmission grid before windmills can become a major part of the energy solution for business and residential customers in the western United States?

c. Would a federal program that enables companies to buy and sell carbon offsets help or hurt industry in the United States?