At 07:08 PM 9/11/2004 -0700, Gary Liss wrote:
Anybody want to set the record straight? We need to make sure the US
Composting Council members understand our perspective.
Gary
From: "M Reilly" <maureen.reilly@no.address>
To: "US Composting Council Compost Discussion List"
<compost@no.address>
Subject: Re: [USCC] Biomass energy priorities ...
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 19:28:07 -0400
Due to the high levels of metals, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, pathogens, and
persistant pollutants that can be found in sewage sludges ('biosolids') it
makes far more sense to use them for energy generation than to compost them,
and thereby concentrate the persistant toxins for further distribution into
the foodchain.
Maureen Reilly
Toronto
I wonder how Ms. Reilly comes to this conclusion? Incineration might help
get rid of the "pathogens" and "pharmaceuticals" but will not help with the
metals.....
There is a lot of promotion of incineration in Canada these days.
> On Thu, 9 Sep 2004, Jim McNelly wrote:
>
> ... see below ...
>
> Hello Jim and other readers,
>
> I read the study you posted below on biomass energy.
>
> My observations are:
>
> It seems foolish to use farmland for growing crops for conversion to
> fuels rather than food production, until we have exhausted all other
> means for providing alternative fuels to wean us from fossil fuels,
> which is not the case.
It certainly does.
> > >* Use of Biomass for the Production of Energy and Materials - On
> > >September 6, OECD issued a News Release, titled "Amid Volatile Oil
Prices
> > >OECD Report Calls for Policy Changes to Promote Biomass," which states
in
> > >part that " ... Plants and animal waste could become viable
alternatives
> > >to fossil fuels in providing energy and materials if governments
changed
> > >strategies ..." according to a new OECD report out today, which is the
> > >proceeding of an OECD Workshop on Biomass and Agriculture, held June 10
> > >through 13, 2003 in Vienna, Austria - The report is titled "Biomass and
> > >agriculture: sustainability, markets and policies" - According to the
> > >report " ... Instead of offering financial incentives or subsidies to
> > >stimulate the use of such organic material, known as 'biomass,'
> > >governments should encourage technical innovation as a way of narrowing
> > >the price gap with oil and gas products. This would stimulate demand
and
> > >boost the supply of bioproducts.
I haven't read the report, but I don't see how "encouraging technical
innovation" is likely to overcome the fundamental problems in combustion
and anerobic digestion of biomass.
AFAIK, most sustainable agricultural systems throughout human history have
been based on return of poop and other biomass to the land to maintain soil
productivity. Our agricultural production is unsustainable because it is
based on very extensive inputs of petroleum for traction and chemical
fertilizers. The answer, then, is to restore the sustainability of
agriculture, not make the situation worse by trying to use biomass to
substitute for petroleum in other sectors.....
Alan Muller
Alan Muller, Executive Director
Green Delaware
Box 69
Port Penn, DE 19731 USA
(302)834-3466
fax (302)836-3005
greendel@no.address
www.greendel.org
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