carbon neutral?

[Bob Rohr]

www.forbes.com/sites/ericagies/2012/05/22/massachusetts-addresses-biomass-loophole-and-limits-subsidies/?utm_source=June+7%2C+2012&utm_campaign=Email+Newsletter+Analytics&utm_medium=email

 

[woodsmaster]

The trees are going to release the carbon weather burnt in a stove or rotting in the forest. What makes the difference where the carbon is released ? They talk like if the tree is not burnt there won't be any carbon from it.

 

[tom in maine]

Our home heating usage is better than burning fossil fuels.

I do tend to agree that using biomass in big industrial power plants could turn the tide, though.
Our usage is using material that would be sourced from local woodlots in small volumes.
Power plants are going to denude large tracts and might be a big problem unless intensive forestry is practiced. Intensive forestry is something they do in Europe but we do not.
All that intensive forestry in Europe still has them importing our biomass.
Interesting article and issue.

 

[SmokeEater]

www.forbes.com/sites/ericagies/2012/05/22/massachusetts-addresses-biomass-loophole-and-limits-subsidies/?utm_source=June+7%2C+2012&utm_campaign=Email+Newsletter+Analytics&utm_medium=email

The Forbes article and all like it are quite meaningless. Carbon "footprint" really refers to the mistaken concept that adding the common gas, carbon dioxide, to the atmosphere will alter the Earth's climate by causing an absorption of "heat" from the sun's rays to increase the atmospheric temperature. I know this is not the place to discuss this heated topic, but if you do some good research studies done by real scientists such as Prof. Zbigniew Jaworowski, Chairman, Scientific Council of Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection and , recently, NASA's H6 research document on CO2's "greenhouse effect", and a great number more, you'll self realize that CO2 is a very insignificant substance in its overall effect on the global climate change.

 

[BoilerMan]

The Forbes article and all like it are quite meaningless. Carbon "footprint" really refers to the mistaken concept that adding the common gas, carbon dioxide, to the atmosphere will alter the Earth's climate by causing an absorption of "heat" from the sun's rays to increase the atmospheric temperature. I know this is not the place to discuss this heated topic, but if you do some good research studies done by real scientists such as Prof. Zbigniew Jaworowski, Chairman, Scientific Council of Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection and , recently, NASA's H6 research document on CO2's "greenhouse effect", and a great number more, you'll self realize that CO2 is a very insignificant substance in its overall effect on the global climate change.

Agreed

The fact that it is a locally sourced energy is good, but to convert it into electricity via steam, not so good IMHO

Interesting to see the 50-60% efficiency numbers. It makes my blood boil to install electric heat (resistive) in our area, and the biomass electric plant two towns over, only converting half of the available BTUs into electricity to that house. Better off for wood volume to have and old air-tight stove from the seventies that achieves 55% efficiency. Oh and what if we run the Chevy Volt all electric car.......... sorry cooling off the blood now............