Gasification Boiler Piping Scheme

Yeah, that's why I like the idea of the wood burning electric plant near here - that will burn all the culled logs, etc.

The second, third and fourth growth forests are in horrible shape, because as you mention they are just growing like weeds. It's rare that you see anyone managing this stuff. Someday, however, as other resources get more scarce, we'll be more like Europe and make the most out of every piece of woodland.

Funny, but my local 2x4's often come from eastern Europe!

Plot all this stuff out, and you can see a good future for biomass - from composite lumber and OSB to pellets, there are lots of uses for all those "weeds".

As to firewood, in my 20+ years selling stoves, I never heard folks complain that we are cutting down forests for fuel wood. I think most people understand that firewood is usually just the thinnings or is the wood which is too small, crooked or otherwise unsuitable for other uses. We could probably increase fuel wood use by 10X and still not put much of a strain on the supply - most trees in urban and suburban areas these days are made into mulch just to get rid of 'em easier.