29. Is Biomass a Climate Solution?
Is Biomass a Climate Solution? We write this column and call it Energy Matters because it does. Energy does matter. In fact at this point in the history of life on Earth, it matters, arguably, more than just about anything. It matters because the human component of the planet community has gotten us into something of a predicament by fashioning an entire civilization on a structure dependent on a constant diet of high-density energy from fossil sources of carbon based-fuel. The predicament is that the destructive effects of this deployment of fossil fuels are heading human civilization rapidly and inexorably towards doom, dragging all other earthly communities with it. Our energy needs constitute an addiction, withdrawal from which seems impossible. There must be a way out of this predicament, we say! But so far no one seems to have a simple treatment. If it is even possible, it is very, very complicated and we know we don’t have time to waste going down blind alleys.