I have checked your "Alternative Alternative Energy: An HCN Special Report" issue over carefully, twice now, and it appears that my eyes are not deceiving me — you really did ignore the potential contributions of woody biomass (HCN, 6/22 & 7/6/09). This is shortsighted, to say the least.
Forest biomass is plentiful, carbon-neutral and essential to meet our nation's renewable energy objectives, whether for electricity, transportation fuels or other energy applications. Renewable forest biomass from America's private and public forests could provide as much as one-third of the energy needed to meet any proposed renewable energy standard. Woody biomass and cellulosic ethanol could also potentially make significant contributions to the production of next generation transportation fuels. Environmentally sound, sustainable management of our forests to provide biomass energy contributes to their long-term health and vitality — thinning out dead and diseased timber, improving wildlife habitat, protecting water quality, aiding the forests' adaptation to climate change and reducing catastrophic wildfires that emit millions of tons of CO2 and other greenhouse gases each year.
 
Serena Carlson
Communications Program Manager
Intermountain Forest Association
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho