[MbrExchange] Re: [ RadSafe ] Scientific Consensus

[Kai Kaletsch]

Hi Don,

I think that, in most cases, biomass means straw, sawdust, branches etc that 
would otherwise be left to rot or burned, releasing CO2 without recovering 
any BTUs. You are correct that the source of the material needs to be 
considered. If forests are cut down in order to burn the wood, then there is 
a temporary increase in CO2 release. If trees are planted on grazing or 
unused land (because they now have economic value) then there will be a 
temporary net absorption of CO2.

In any case, unqualified statements like: burning biomass produces more CO2 
than coal, are misleading.

Kai

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Don Jordan" <DonJordan at ramservicesinc.com>
To: <radsafe at radlab.nl>
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2007 6:35 PM
Subject: Re: [MbrExchange] Re: [ RadSafe ] Scientific Consensus


> This may not be strictly true because:
>
> (a)  If the biomass is not replaced, then there is a net increase in the 
> CO2
> and also a decrease in the sink (i.e., rain forest).
>
> (b) the chemical and biological kinetics of the new growth may lag behind
> the production rate for a while.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Bernard L. Cohen" <blc+ at pitt.edu>
> To: <RuthWeiner at aol.com>
> Cc: <mbrexchange at list.ans.org>; <radsafe at radlab.nl>;
> <hjsmith at bushschool.tamu.edu>
> Sent: 16 March, 2007 11:51 AM
> Subject: Re: [MbrExchange] Re: [ RadSafe ] Scientific Consensus
>
>
>>
>>
>> RuthWeiner at aol.com wrote:
>>
>> > .  Forcing a state like New Mexico to get a fraction of electricity
>> > from "renewables" (including biomass which produces more CO2 per BTU,
>> > not less, than coal) does nothing except make electricity more
>> > expensive.  And so on.
>> >
>>
>>        ---Burning biomass does not add any net CO2 to the Earth's
>> atmosphere, because the CO2 it emits was originally removed from the
>> atmosphere in growing the biomass.
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