Barbara Lerman-Golomb

New year for trees

Tu B’Shwatt: Serving up energy action at the seder

In his 2007 State of the Union address, President Bush touted biomass-derived ethanol as a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. He specifically mentioned corn, switch grass, a fast-growing shrub called “biomass willow,” and wood chips as “cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol.”

Sources of biomass energy can include food crops, grasses (for example, sorghum, sugarcane), other plant matter, and a variety of tree species, as well as agricultural and forestry waste and much more. Wood, however, is still the most common source.