Cutting forests is a burning issue in Mass.

Just south of the border from Brattleboro, the issue of biomass burning for electricity has become a hot topic.

[Next Door Neighbor]

Keeping Brattleboro free from biomass burning operations like the one proposed by the "Brat.ThermalUtilities,In c." group will head off a huge increase in local CO2 emissions and prevent further degradation of air quality by avoiding biomass's worse-than-coal 2.5 particulate emissions.

I urge citizens and community leaders to move quickly to stop BTU,Inc from provoking a divisive conflict or, in the worst case, actually building a biomass burner in or close to a densely populated area.

[mike mullian]

I just hate the idea of picking on the innocent peoples, the people who ares the burdens of their cause on the, say the users of electronics. We all got a vision with what we think our electric system should look like, and conform to global warming issues, and we just place the burdens of bottom half of the population.

For a few pennies more in electronics, and being just a little bit smarter with how we can do consumerism...we could engineer circuits and components into these electronics where most the phantom loads could automatically be eliminated. We just have to have a bigger mindset that these electronics components manufacturers, they end up competing for a few pennies of differential of cost.

In other words, I hate it when for a cause we end blame-hating the regular people of the USA...when the real problem is the elites in our society who refuse to use their heads in setting policies and regulation, more efficient than blame-hating the general public...to engineer a better world for us with a grand vision of the future.

If that is the world we create, where everything is keyed off profits and insignificant cost differentials of consumer programs?

We all need to be bigger than that?

[mike mulligan]

HMM, that is right way to spell my name?

[Linda]

Does burning that much of anything sound like a good idea to anyone?? It just doesn't make any sense! The things people will do to make a buck at everyone else's expenses are sickening.

[mike mulligan]

My good old home town?

They got us so insecure?

[Richard Stafursky]

Our Vermont forests must be allowed to mature. We are the protectors of our broadleaf, deciduous forest. Biomass burning facilities burn our forests for short term profits. This is not extraction for essential building materials. This is not improving the forest. This is burning whole trees as well as forest canopy tops.

All my life I have worked toward returning the forest while others strategize to burn or destroy it. One does not burn one's seed crop. That is what you do when you burn mature forests.

At a recent promotion of district energy biomass burning here in Brattleboro I spoke to a plant engineer who was absolutely convinced that building a underground heat pipe network fired by burning our forests was a good thing. The one model example that his fellow engineers pointed to was in Europe. Specifically, southern Italy which contained some of the last lush forests on the continent (South Tyrol, Toblack, Italy, S. Tyrol is about the size of Windham County). That was smart? Dozens of medium-sized biomass incinerators are burning the remaining lush forests of Europe's natural landscape? Now these same engineers have completed a survey for Vermont and will formally present their results this month to the Board of Selectmen. They have found northern and central Vermont too logged over. The trees too small in diameter. However, they have found and are eager to report that the lush forest, ripe for burning, are in southern Vermont. Yes, our Windham County. Sound familiar?

Remember, the continental broadleaf forests of Europe severely fragmented and all but gone as a result of centuries of burning.

People of Brattleboro, do not listen to those that would burn our natural landscape and pump more CO2 into our air. Don't delay and impede true clean energy and energy conservation.

Big or small biomass incinerators and underground piping is obsolete engineering. We must allow them to go the way of the dinosaurs. True green energy? Yes, we can do it clean and we can do it now.

[GreenPeas]

Please leave the trees alone! What did they ever do to you? I love trees, they are so nice to me. Without them I wouldn't have a forest or anything to hug. I worship the very dirt that they grow in. Trees Trees Trees, I love Trees. How many ways do I love thee? Oh, trees! Oh, let me count the ways.

Cut them all down except for one. Leave at least one in case I have to take a leak. I'd hate to have to take one on a tree hugging dirt worshipping bleeding heart liberal POS. After all, they cry enough, I don't need to give them something more to cry about. Has anyone seen my Hummer keys? I have to drive over some Prius in the parking lot. But, I'm going to change my oil in the sewer and let it idle for about 2 hours before I drive it. Plus, my chainsaw is in the trunk next to my rifle. After I get done cutting down some trees, I'm going hunting. Any liberals want hold my targets for me while I practice?

Thank you and have a nice day.

[GreenPeas]

Richard Stafursky wrote:

Our Vermont forests must be allowed to mature. We are the protectors of our broadleaf, deciduous forest. Biomass burning facilities burn our forests for short term profits. This is not extraction for essential building materials. This is not improving the forest. This is burning whole trees as well as forest canopy tops.
All my life I have worked toward returning the forest while others strategize to burn or destroy it. One does not burn one's seed crop. That is what you do when you burn mature forests.
At a recent promotion of district energy biomass burning here in Brattleboro I spoke to a plant engineer who was absolutely convinced that building a underground heat pipe network fired by burning our forests was a good thing. The one model example that his fellow engineers pointed to was in Europe. Specifically, southern Italy which contained some of the last lush forests on the continent (South Tyrol, Toblack, Italy, S. Tyrol is about the size of Windham County). That was smart? Dozens of medium-sized biomass incinerators are burning the remaining lush forests of Europe's natural landscape? Now these same engineers have completed a survey for Vermont and will formally present their results this month to the Board of Selectmen. They have found northern and central Vermont too logged over. The trees too small in diameter. However, they have found and are eager to report that the lush forest, ripe for burning, are in southern Vermont. Yes, our Windham County. Sound familiar?
Remember, the continental broadleaf forests of Europe severely fragmented and all but gone as a result of centuries of burning.
People of Brattleboro, do not listen to those that would burn our natural landscape and pump more CO2 into our air. Don't delay and impede true clean energy and energy conservation.
Big or small biomass incinerators and underground piping is obsolete engineering. We must allow them to go the way of the dinosaurs. True green energy? Yes, we can do it clean and we can do it now.

Thank you Richard! You are my hero! You seem so passionate about this. Got a light? I have some trees to burn. I just cut down a couple of acres right next to some wetlands and it's itching to release all of that CO2. BTW, Al Gore called and he wants his blowup doll back. He said that you'd better have filled it with clean air and not the filthy CO2 that comes out of your mouth. Clinton insists that you take the blue dress of of it too.

Hey, I bet that if we pured gasoline on the cut down trees next to the wetlands, they'd burn better and all that black smoke will keep the mosquitoes away. So, when's the bonfire?

When it comes to a carbon footprint, they call me sasquatch!

[Tamarac]

Rememberthe Dr Seuss book The Lorax? Really now you should catch up on your reading! It is all there for all who care.

[Alice T]

Environmentalists, like the author of this article, are against almost everything. Fossil fuels are bad, nuclear is bad, burning wood is bad. Making it difficult to burn fossil fuels and use nuclear will inevitably lead to burning more wood. We have huge supplies of natural gas, coal and oil in this country. Let's use our fossil fuel and stop worrying about non-problems like global warming.

Leading scientists think global warming is nonsense. You should, too. Listen to Dr. Richard S. Lindzen, the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/11/04/video-o...

[KSM]

An overview of the proposed plants - with a review of water usage:

www.ctriver.org/programs/advocacy/water_use_p...

[SubLiterate]

GreenPeas wrote:

Please leave the trees alone! What did they ever do to you? I love trees, they are so nice to me. Without them I wouldn't have a forest or anything to hug. I worship the very dirt that they grow in. Trees Trees Trees, I love Trees. How many ways do I love thee? Oh, trees! Oh, let me count the ways.
Cut them all down except for one. Leave at least one in case I have to take a leak. I'd hate to have to take one on a tree hugging dirt worshipping bleeding heart liberal POS. After all, they cry enough, I don't need to give them something more to cry about. Has anyone seen my Hummer keys? I have to drive over some Prius in the parking lot. But, I'm going to change my oil in the sewer and let it idle for about 2 hours before I drive it. Plus, my chainsaw is in the trunk next to my rifle. After I get done cutting down some trees, I'm going hunting. Any liberals want hold my targets for me while I practice?
Thank you and have a nice day.

Obvious troll. I give it a 1/10. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, could really be that stupid. I guess some people will do anything for attention. Look at me! Look at me!

[KSM]

Sorry, the website listing below should directly review the proposed plants:

www.ctriver.org/programs/advocacy/water_use_p...

[RIchard]

Alice T wrote:

Environmentalists, like the author of this article, are against almost everything. Fossil fuels are bad, nuclear is bad, burning wood is bad. Making it difficult to burn fossil fuels and use nuclear will inevitably lead to burning more wood. We have huge supplies of natural gas, coal and oil in this country. Let's use our fossil fuel and stop worrying about non-problems like global warming.
Leading scientists think global warming is nonsense. You should, too. Listen to Dr. Richard S. Lindzen, the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/11/04/video-o...

Good point. This is all happening because of the global warming scare. More and more scientists are expressing doubts about global warming. Meanwhile, our proven reserves of natural gas have increased to around 100 years. This suggests that there is no need to be burning wood and putting up windmills in the Berkshires. Oddly enough, environmentalists brought about this environmental destruction by jumping on the AGW bandwagon.

[gladius]

Biomass IS CLEAN technology as well as being "carbon neutral". It has the added benefit of byproduct potash that is a valuable soil additive for agriculture.

The CO2 released in burning the biomass will encourage more vigorous photosynthesis in food crops and forests.

Burning wood waste. rather than leaving it to turn to compost, allows the heat content to be put to use in producing usable energy rather than producing CO2 and even the methane which we get enough of from cattle and BHLPTH chili eaters.

[Tamarac]

gladius wrote:

Biomass IS CLEAN technology as well as being "carbon neutral". It has the added benefit of byproduct potash that is a valuable soil additive for agriculture.
The CO2 released in burning the biomass will encourage more vigorous photosynthesis in food crops and forests.
Burning wood waste. rather than leaving it to turn to compost, allows the heat content to be put to use in producing usable energy rather than producing CO2 and even the methane which we get enough of from cattle and BHLPTH chili eaters.

What do you suppose is going to happen to the price of a cord of wood if these types of plants are built in the area? I was quoted 200 a cord for green in September! It is a good thing I pre bought enough last year to get me through perhaps until Feb. Then I will be forced to rely soly on my oil burning furnace. My furnace while more efficient than burning wood, is set at 60 and that gets cold on the old bones after a bit.