Category: Blog entry
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Biomass Energy: Dirty and Unsustainable
Biomass Energy: Dirty and Unsustainable - by Ron Zeller President Obama’s continuing “all-out, all-in, all-of-the-above” energy strategy still supports biomass energy development despite its increasingly obvious problems, numerous abandoned facilities, and public rejection. An asserted need to reduce America’s reliance on imported oil is frequently cited in arguments made for funding projects which are otherwise…
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Cellulosic Ethanol: A Bio-Fool’s Errand?
Cellulosic Ethanol: A Bio-Fool’s Errand? The good news is that the cellulosic ethanol industry—turning trees and woody plants into liquid fuels—has yet to take off. And without an endless stream of taxpayer handouts to develop this polluting and environmentally destructive energy source, it probably never will. Under the guise of taking action on climate change, the US…
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VICTORY against Maryland’s “Waste Portfolio Standard” — the Latest Creative Way to Prop Up Incinerators
- by Mike Ewall What does an incinerator industry do when they can’t compete? Change the rules. Biomass and trash incinerators are the most expensive way to make energy, and trash incineration costs more than directly landfilling the waste. These industries survive to the extent that they can change the rules to get monopoly waste contracts, become ‘renewable’ energy in…
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Biomass Moratorium Called for in Oregon
- by Save Our Rural Oregon Due to the Clean Air Act violations both Klamath Falls and Lakeview, Oregon have experienced this winter, Save Our Rural Oregon is requesting an emergency moratorium on proposed biomass and biofuels projects in both communities. Letters have been forwarded to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber,…
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Burlington, Vermont Ignores Biomass Emissions
It’s good news that IBM is helping Burlington, Vermont lower its impact on the climate. [“IBM Wants to Help Burlington Reduce Its Carbon Footprint,” Seven Days, March 27]. Unfortunately, the city’s refusal to fix glaring errors in its Climate Action Plan prevents an honest look at Burlington’s actual contributions to runaway global climate change. The Burlington…
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Biomass Battle Casts Spotlight on Environmental Justice
Sometimes what seems like defeat in the short term can actually turn out to be victory in the long run. One such case involves the opposition to the construction of Seneca Sawmill’s biomass power incinerator in Eugene, Oregon. While the facility fired up its smokestacks for the first time in 2011, the effort to educate…
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Allentown Residents for Clean Air bring Incinerator Issue to the Voters
An experimental trash and sewage sludge incinerator, planned in the heart of the Hispanic community in the City of Allentown, Pennsylvania is being challenged by Allentown Residents for Clean Air (ARCA). The group just submitted over 2,000 signatures to put a Clean Air Ordinance we wrote on the November ballot as an initiative. If this ballot initiative passes, Delta Thermo Energy will…
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San Francisco reports record 80% diversion rate
This is from October 2012, but still worth celebrating. We keep dealing with communities where local officials want to pursue incineration (not realizing that it’s the most expensive and polluting way to make energy or to dispose of waste) while they haven’t even tried to get serious about zero waste programs (redesign / reduce / reuse / recycle…
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Genetically Engineered Trees for Bioenergy Pose Major Threat to Southern Forests
Genetically Engineered Trees for Bioenergy Pose Major Threat to Southern Forests -by Global Justice Ecology Project In response to industry plans to develop eucalyptus plantations across the US South, environmental groups are raising serious concerns about the impacts of eucalyptus plantations on forests, rural communities, wildlife and the climate, especially if those trees are genetically engineered.…
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The Ohio Biomess
- by Nathan Johnson, Buckeye Forest Council News broke on January 30th that Todd Snitchler, chairman of the Ohio Public Utilities Commission (PUCO) was a keynote speaker at the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) task-force meeting in April 2011. As many readers know, ALEC has been aggressively pushing for the repeal of renewable energy standards at state legislatures across the…