Photo : Wood smoke from a state of the art wood pellet boiler, at the John Olver Transportation Center, Greenfield,MA
Mohawk Trail Woodlands sustainable forestry and energy project announced
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/ma/newsroom/releases/?cid=STELPRDB1268025
“We’re in a valley; we have air inversions. Schools have a highly susceptible population,” Ayers said, mentioning conditions such as asthma. “Students would be exposed (to particulates) five days a week.”
Ayers’ remarks came after ecologist Mary Stuart Booth, director of Partnership for Policy Integrity, questioned the so-called “carbon neutrality” of pellet stoves, given the high-energy required to manufacture and transport wood pellets. Booth said there are no standards for how the pellets are made, and that the high demand for wood-pellet stoves and boilers is resulting in clear-cutting of forests to meet the demand. Also, she said, heavy metals and toxins from demolition wood have been found in some analysis of pellet emissions.
Decision With Heath Costs
Letter to the Greenfield Recorder - March 1 , 2016
"My fear is that the opportunity for the Mohawk School District, with its declining student enrollment and half-empty schools, to focus on saving money by participating in these programs is clouding the vision of local officials."
http://www.recorder.com/home/20991200-95/letter-decision-with-health-costs
Are West County's Ears Burning-State Study Looks at Wood Availabilty
Greenfield Recorder March 28, 2016
THE FOREST INDUSTRY WEIGHS IN
Demonizing Pellet Fuel
Letter to the Greenfield Recorder - February 8, 2016
http://www.recorder.com/home/20955505-95/letter-demonizing-pellet-fuel
Wood Pellet Boiler Makes Sense
Letter to the Greenfield Recorder - February 7, 2016
http://www.recorder.com/home/20909055-95/letter-wood-pellet-boiler-makes-sense