2008 MFA Annual Conference Speaker featured in article

the article below features an interview with Bill Rodenberg, who will be one of the presenters and panelists at the 2008 MFA Annual Conference in Annapolis on November 1.

Making Hay From Woody Waste
Written By: Emily Badger

Biomass, for those areas with a reliable supply of woody waste, could be a dream source of renewable energy and the ideal enemy of carbon release. If only someone would try it

The state of Maryland spits out more than 800,000 tons a year of woody waste, or the tree trimmings from your yard, the carnage of heavy storms and the natural decay of urban parks and forests. Mother Natures refuse is given about the same empty value as whatevers in your kitchen trash can, and generally, it just sits there or is trucked to a landfill.

The stuff could, though, help solve the renewable energy search.

Forget about solar power, hydroelectric dams or windmills red herrings in the fight to replace fossil fuels, as one researcher calls them. The best answer may be biomass: woody waste and in slightly trickier forms cow manure and even municipal waste that could power and heat entire towns in the United States.

I have this belief that if something is logical, it will happen, energy consultant Bill Rodenberg said. If something is illogical, it will go away eventually. It just does not make sense to take our biomass, our municipal waste, and bury it in a landfill where it will emit greenhouse gases for the next 100 years.....
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