Post in Apologies and Next Steps
Topic Navigation
Useful Links
Apologies and Next Steps From: Lee Martin Date: 2007 Jun 29 12:35 UTC Short link
John,
You said that you have twice met with the American Lung Association. Living in
Westfield, my concern is with the ALA's Opposition.
What specificallydo you understand theAmerican Lung Association'sconcerns to
be?
What specific things is Russell Biomass doing to addresstheir concerns?
Are you saying that the ALA is showing signs of supporting the project andthat
the ALAno longer opposes it's location?
Does the ALA no longer believe thatterrain and weather inversions are an issue?
Lee Martin
Westfield, MA
-----Original Message----- From: <email obscured> To: Pioneer Valley Base Camp <<email obscured>> Sent: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 2:45 pm Subject: Re: [PV-Base Camp] Apologies and Next Steps Dear Alan Muller: FACT: Voting for or against the PVPC Clean Energy Plan has absoultely NO impact n whether the Russell Biomass electric power plant will be built or not. That ecision is in the hands of twenty different state agencies and departments harged with assessing, approving or disapproving of the projects plant design nd operations. The consequence of this reality is that a few people expended a lot of effort to efeat the PVPC Clean Energy Plan to no avail other than to make more difficult he PVPC's efforts to do SOMETHING about the climate crisis. The plan addresses wide spectrum of actions ranging from conservation and efficiency to ncouraging renewable energy capacity. Looking at the vote "no" effort as a referendum on the biomass plant, those pposing the biomass project THROUGH the PVPC plan lost the referendum in the ame way that the local Russell biomass plant "referendum" in Russell failed for he second time in two years to unseat a highly popular selectboard member who upports the plant ONLY IF it passes the permitting process. Lots of people have een made to worry or have unfounded concerns about the biomass plant because of his "grassroots" disinformation campaign. What I have come to understand is that the general public has precious little nowledge about biomass, what it is, and how it works and that is our failure to ommunicate...something we are now working on. One state to watch is California which, thanks to Governor Schwarzenegger, is eading the nation (not to mention the present administration) in establishing argets and legislative mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to ncrease the amount of electric power generated by renewable energy. 36 biomass-fueled power plants in California currenltly generate about 700 MW of lectricity with fuels derived from the forestry, agricultural, and urban wood aste sectors. These biomass power plants are unique in the electrical generation industry ecause the contribution of the plants in terms of greenhouse gas emissions is ignificantly less than zero. Biomass plant operations cause a major net egative emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). This is because of the avoidance of HG emissions from the alternate fates of the biomass wastes by virtue of the ollection of these wastes for use as fuel in the boilers of the biomass plants. At its peak in 1994, biomass power plants generated 800MW of power, a little ver 2 percent of Californias electricity consumption. The biomass industry in alifornia remains among the most reliable suppliers of power in the state. However, electricity deregulation in California, which promised relief to atepayers (and brought them Enron), poses a serious threat to the continued xistence of the biomass power industry because of its narrow focus on price at he expense of value. Coal-fired power is cheaper than wood-fired power. So at a ime when more biomass facilities are needed, fewer and fewer are in operation. f the 43 that were in operation in California in 1994, only 29 are currently roducing electricity. Ten are available to come back into service with the ight incentives. The biomass power presence in the United States is substantial. Across the ountry in 2003, there were approximately 80 operating biomass power plants. hese plants are located in 19 states. In addition, there were about 40 plants hich could have been operable, but which were not. Four years ago the operating biomass power plants nationwide represented about ,676 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity. It may be that no one on the PVPC orum is aware of that. Also, as I have noted many times, biomass heats and ools Cooley Dickenson Hospital, heats and makes electricity for Mt. Wachusetts ommunity College, Athol High School, 26 public schools in Vermont...and the eat goes on. Our future depends upon how well we understand our past. Thirty years ago, mericans were enduring energy shortages and waiting in long lines just to fill heir gas tanks. OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, was a ousehold word, because the U.S. was at the mercy of foreign countries for the upply of crude oil so vital to our economy. OPEC was embargoing its oil, and nergy prices were spurting. America was caught unprepared, and many suffered. In response to the crisis "Green Power" was born. Congress in 1978 enacted the ublic Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), in an effort to diversify and trengthen domestic energy production. California, in turn, instituted policies o aggressively implement PURPA and stimulate development of renewable energy ources. In an environment of high inflation and scarce energy, experts in the ate 1970s projected that the price of crude oil would reach $100 a barrel by he mid 1980s. Out of this background emerged a brand new industry biomass power. The first mall plants began producing electricity in 1982-3, and the wood-fired eneration infrastructure rapidly expanded throughout California and elsewhere uring the 1980's. Instead of burning non-renewable fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas, iomass power plants combust wood waste to generate electricity. In the early ays, most biomass plants utilized sawmill residues exclusively. But as more lants were constructed and the number of operating sawmills declined, biomass acilities evolved to provide numerous other solid waste disposal options to ociety. Forest thinnings, agricultural byproducts, orchard removals, and urban ood waste also are now being converted to electricity, reducing the risk of ildfire in the forests, avoiding tons of open burning and conserving landfill pace. The biomass industry annually consumes 7 million tons of organic waste quivalent to about 25 percent of all the waste deposited in California andfills each year. The grim oil price projections from the era of the 1970's energy crisis have urned out to be very wrong. As a result, the PURPA program was closed down and hus the financial incentive for private enterprise to build safer biomass lants disappeared. Although the technology is reliable and has proven itself or many years, biomass power plants struggled to survive in an era of eregulation and cheap power. Some have even shut down. But history has a way of repeating itself. We now import more foreign oil and atural gas than ever before, even in the pre-energy crisis days of the early 970s. Peak oil has been reached and the worldwide supply of petroleum is fast iminishing. Then there is the war in Iraq... Today on NPR there as a story bout citizen revolt in Iran over the government's increase in the cost of asoline (up from 11 cents per liter!!). If Iran can see the future of iminishing oil sitting, as it does, on some of the world's richest deposits, here might be a message here for Americans. Bottom line is that to do nothing is morally indefensible. To not build biomass r wind powered projects (every project of which is opposed by a few community embers in Massachusetts communities) means to accept that the use of coal - the heapest of the fossil fuels for the power industry - will be on the increase. n excess of 250 NEW coal-fired plants are planned in the U.S. over the next 25 ears. Don't even ask about China and India. The air we breath today contains nwanted pollution from coal plants in the Ohio Valley, from coal plants in the outh (depending on which way the winds are blowing) and from good 'ol, nearby t. Tom. Hard at work in Washington is the nuclear energy lobby. That industry will ontinue to make a comeback as our national thirst for more electric power grows ver stronger. So what to do? Some have claimed that biomass plants smaller in capacity than the proposed ussell Biomass 50 MW plant are not harmful from a air quality perspective. rong. Dead wrong. A small wood-fired heating source ranging from a home wood tove to the proposed 100 MW biomass plant in Texas can be safe OR unsafe, epending upon its design and the type of fuel it burns. You think sitting by our Yuletide fire roasting chestnuts "over an open fire" is safer than having a 0 MW power plant at the edge of your town? Wrong. Dead wrong. Check with the merican Lung Association. Ask yourself if Cooley Dickenson Hospital would perate a wood boiler (NOT an incinerator) in the hospital building complex if here was ANY possibility that it would be harmful to patients. I don't think o. So Alan, some questions: As a self-professed "student of manipulated public involvement processes," what o you make of these facts? There's no manipulation in this message...just a resentation of factual information all of which is verifiable. What do you see as steps we in western Massachusetts should take to try to eclaim a healthy environment? Do you consider the opposition's assertion that our plant's emissions would be he equivalent of 12,000 wood stoves to be "manipulative?" If so, on what basis? Do you think the use of the word "incinerator" in place of the technically ccurate word "boiler" be as "manipulative?" (Is an Outside Wood Boiler an ncinerator? Were the old, pre-diesel steam engines incinerators or boilers?) Do you view as fact the constant charge that Russell Biomass will one day, if ot now, burn construction and demolition wood (C&D) as fuel? There is now on ecord at Russell Town Hall a signed legal agreement to never burn such aterial...a guarantee that extends to any and all future owners of the power lant should it ever be sold. If the opposition one more time asserts that we ill burn C&D, would you consider that as manipulative? Or deliberate isinformation? I understand that if people WANT to believe something that facts will not change heir minds. I still encounter supporters of the Bush administration who believe here WERE weapons of mass desruction in Iraq. So be it...except that the ctions of this country based on that belief have done irreperable damage to the eoples of both countries and to my son and his two sons' generation. What rreperable damage are we doing by not moving as fast as possible to mitigae lobal warming on both an individual and institutional level? I understand that once someone professes to "know" all there is about a subject here is no room left for learning new information or facts. It is people who ay "I don't know?" and "I want to know..." that are the best hope for our ommunities and country. I have no respect for environmental organizations which refuse or "can't find ime" to hear what we have to say or to review our various health and nvironmental impact studies. Do you think it was "manipulative public involvement" for the Toxics Action enter to award Russell Biomass a "Dirty Dozen Award" for emissions from a power lant that exists only on paper and for which accurate, FACTUAL emission easurements are not possible to make? It got them and plant opponents a photo n the local newspaper, a photo that will one day come back to remind them how rong (and manipulative) they were. That said, I have deep respect for the Massachusetts Chapter of the American ung Association with whom we have twice met because they are open to hearing hat we have to say and which allowed their staff and board members to press heir concerns about air quality. We have learned big time from them about their osition and are working to see if there is a way to address their very specific oncerns about ozone and particulate matter concentrations. Alan, if you, like a growing chorus of participants on this Forum, would like to ngage in an honest discourse, lets talk. Sincerely, John Bos ublic Information Officer USSELL BIOMASS LLC Info about : http://forums.e-democracy.org/contacts/bosjohn This topic's messages may be viewed at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/4jKDBlWmUARuRGefUikzAi ---------------------------------------- To post, send your message to: <email obscured> To leave or for daily digest, type "unsubscribe" or "digest on," in subject line and send to: <email obscured> More info about Pioneer Valley Base Camp: http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/pv-basecamp E-Democracy.Org rules: http://e-democracy.org/rules ---------------------------------------- echnical assistance thanks to our friends at http://OnlineGroups.Net ________________________________________________________________________ Check Out the new free AIM(R) Mail -- Unlimited storage and industry-leading spam and email virus protection.