Hey. I love farms and rural areas, and I live in the city. I'm part owner of a local food coop and member of our community in many ways, raising kids, serving on the Transit commission, and staying active in ag and environmental issues.I would like to support some green, local initiatives, but haven't found any real local, stunning ideas to grab onto. Are any of these biomass burning methods legal or desirable in the city? What sorts of projects are worth pursuing, as individuals but more as businesses, small industry and collectively through government?
I was supportive of biodiesel for our bus fleet, but have lost enthusiasm for it due to lack of infrastructure and local feedstocks I support (I do not like GM soy biodiesel, but slightly prefer it to petrodiesel). We will certainly get new diesel electric hybrids in our new fleet, but biofuel sources remain off the table - should they?
There is a lot of natural gas being burned for heat, what can replace that in a city? I have asthma that can flare up from neighbors woodburning (and my own, when I bake bread in the cob oven). I like that wood is local, though, and can be done sustainably. What would work?
Leave comments with ideas please!
1 comments:
First off - what are we looking at here? A little passive solar or what? It's funny you mention you're looking for some local, "stunning" ideas to inspire you. We are planning a renewable energy conference for Chippewa Valley and we were struggling with the same conundrum - what can we point to locally? We decided to invite some folks from River Falls as they are looking at come community wind options and the campus is supposed to also be going 'off the grid' or at least 100% renewable. I think you are right there is room for more innovation here locally. Another interesting place to look is at the district heating system up in Barron. They are heating - and soon to be cooling - with wood several buildings which are all connected. That model could work for some communities that still have the infrastructure in place - perhaps buried and forgotten by now. With regard to the wood issue I believe the newer systems and most the pellet systems are actually quite efficient and clean burning. I believe its the outdoor burners that burn in low oxygen environments that emit alot of hazardous gases though I'm not an expert on that by a long shot. I'm going to take a pass on the biofuels question except to say that research is being done locally on alternative crops such as canola and sunflower which could possibly offer some hope. Finally, I think the answer to your last point is that the "low hanging" fruit out there is energy efficiency and demand reduction. That is probably the area with the biggest return on investment and the most practical way to reduce natural gas usage around here. Of course solar water heating would be another one.
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