[GreenYes] Re: our solar soulmates don't get it!!

[Stephan Pollard <stephan.pollard@no.address>]

Eric,

You state that "when the full life cycle is considered, recycling is a 
far less greenhouse gas and energy intensive approach than biomass 
incineration."  I'd be very interested in having a look at any 
scientifically performed peer-reviewed LCA that considers recycling next 
to biomass incineration.  Could you direct me to the source of the above 
information?

Best Regards,
Stephan




Eric Lombardi wrote:

> (this just in from GAIA)
>
> A recent report by the American Solar Energy Society, and recognized 
> by the Sierra Club as their official roadmap to confronting global 
> warming, presents a biomass strategy that would displace real global 
> warming solutions such as recycling and composting by supporting the 
> incineration of municipal solid waste--including paper.  This could 
> undermine efforts to transform the pulp and paper industry, reduce 
> paper consumption, increase paper recycling, and protect forests.
>
> The report can be found at: http://www.ases.org/climatechange/
>
> Sierra Club's press release can be found at: 
> http://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/releases/pr2007-01-31a.asp
>
> I have also pasted the text from the report that is of particular 
> concern at the bottom of this e-mail.
>
> The report presents an expanded definition of "biomass" that includes 
> gasification incineration of municipal solid waste as a source of 
> renewable energy.  The data used in the study considers more than half 
> of U.S. municipal solid waste as eligible for biomass, including 
> materials that are currently recycled or composted such as paper, 
> cardboard, green waste, food waste and construction wood waste.  
> Further, the report makes no mention of recycling.  When the full life 
> cycle is considered, recycling is a far less greenhouse gas and energy 
> intensive approach than biomass incineration.
>
>  State and federal climate policy will be pivotal in determining the 
> fate of recycling and composting in the U.S.  Rather than support the 
> expansion of incinerators in U.S. communities, we must work to advance 
> policies that support more just and sustainable waste solutions that 
> are better for the climate than incineration and landfilling.
>
>  *Promote recycling, not incineration: *
>
> **
>
> Ø      *Write a letter to the Sierra Club to let them know that you 
> are concerned about the impact of biomass incineration on paper 
> recycling. The Sierra Club has been an ally on many issues.  Please 
> consider including the points below:*
>
> **
>
> o        Biomass should not be defined to include incineration 
> (including gasification, pyrolysis, plasma and other incinerator 
> technologies) of valuable materials found in municipal solid waste 
> such as paper, cardboard, green waste, food waste and construction 
> wood waste because:
>
>  §         Classifying incineration as a source of renewable energy 
> and a solution to global warming undermines real global warming 
> solutions such as recycling and composting
>
> §         Recycling and composting of discarded materials contributes 
> far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than incineration
>
> §         Recycling and composting materials conserves 3-5 times more 
> energy than incineration generates
>
> §         Incinerators are the most expensive and toxic approach to 
> dealing with municipal solid waste
>
>  Of particular concern in the report is the following:
>
>  "Urban Residues (Municipal Solid Waste [MSW])
>
> Values for biomass in MSW were available for California at the county 
> level [21], and we obtained data for the remaining states (with the 
> exceptions of Alaska and Montana) from a recent survey of state solid 
> waste and recycling officials [25]. We calculated a value for annual 
> per capita MSW generation of 1.38 metric tons per person per year from 
> the data available for the 16 states. We applied this annual per 
> capita factor to the populations of Alaska and Montana to estimate 
> their MSW generation. We applied values for moisture content (30% wet 
> basis) and biogenic fraction of MSW (56%) to the MSW values to arrive 
> at estimates of biogenic dry matter in MSW for each state. This 
> resource includes only the biomass component of MSW and not the entire 
> MSW stream. The biomass component consists of paper and cardboard, 
> green waste, food waste, and construction wood waste, and specifically 
> excludes plastics, tires, and other non-biomass materials. We 
> determined biomass in MSW diverted from landfill by subtraction of 
> disposal from generation."
>
>  The report includes the following incineration technologies:
>
> . Stoker and fluid bed combustors with steam generation and steam turbines
>
> . Gasification with applications to boiler steam generation and steam 
> turbines, combined cycle (gas turbine, heat recovery steam generator, 
> and steam turbine), or an ICE
>
>   
>
> Dave Ciplet
>
> Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)
>
> Tel: 510.883.9490 ext. 102
>
> Fax: 510.883.9493
>
> dave@no.address <mailto:dave@no.address>
>
> www.no-burn.org <http://www.no-burn.org/>
>
>  
>
>
>
> >


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