Proceedings - Biomass South 2008

Mr. Ernie Shea, 25x25 Alliance

Mr. Ernie Shea is Project Coordinator for 25x’25, a diverse alliance of agricultural, forestry, environmental, conservation and other organizations and businesses that are working collaboratively to advance the goal of securing 25 percent of the nation’s energy needs from renewable sources by the year 2025. 25x’25 is led by a national steering committee composed of volunteer leaders. The 25x’25 goal has been endorsed by nearly 700 partners, 29 Governors, 15 state legislatures and the U.S. Congress through HR6 which was signed into law by President Bush on December 19, 2007.

Charting a Course for Biomass Resource Use

Slide Presentation in PDF format (will open in new window)

Notes:

Energy = the economy
Old system is not sustainable – fossil fuels are finite
Population is growing
The Southeast’s Biomass resources lead the nation
We’ve done the easy work – we’ve gotten consensus
Technology is leading us toward efficient, cleaner , less costly solutions

The 25 x 25 Working Group:

Cellulosic Ethanol - 86% reduction in Green House Gases ( Life Cycle Analysis)

Competition among renewable sectors is growing ( unfortunately)

Need to keep an eye on Fossil fuel Proponents

Key Quotes:

Our vision: “By 2025, 25% of total energy will come from biomass and renewable sources”

$ 700 Billion boost to the economy

4 million new jobs

“Even Congress Gets It!” HR 6

“We’ve got to be able to demonstrate to the American people that we can sustainably produce biomass and renewable energy.”

Summary:

America needs a new energy future that is:

Cleaner

Improves National Security

Strengthens the Economy

Sustainably contributes positively to the quality of life of all

With vision, we need a plan – The nation currently lacks that

And ideally it should accelerate all forms of renewable energy

Thanks to Sarah Ashton, Rachel Cook, Lindsey Hannum, James Jeuck, Liwei Lin, James McCarter, Susan McIntyre, and Mark Megalos for providing notes and summaries for presentations.

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