Biomass to Overcome A Global Tetralemma

Recently, global issues concerning energy and environment have been the subjects for discussions. Moreover, several related programs are undertaken for the promotion of using worldwide biomass resources in response to the issue. In this paper the concept to overcome a global tetralemma consisting of four issues such as population, food, energy and environment is discussed from the viewpoint of agricultural engineering based on the proposal of using “Rice” which can certainly contribute a lot as one of the key resources to cover at least three of the issues of food, energy and environment simultaneously. The possibility of using Rice for bio-ethanol production is also discussed from the viewpoint of improving the situations of two issues of energy and environment in global tetralemma