BIO OIL ~ Touted as a promising way for farmers to enhance energy security

Tom Avril, Inquirer Staff Writer 
January 29, 2013,
 Pour a few handfuls of chopped-up corn stalks or switchgrass into a hopper. Heat rapidly. Funnel the resulting mixture through an intricate network of metal pipes and canisters.
Out the other end - drip, drip - comes a thick brown liquid that looks an awful lot like oil.

 Called bio oil, it is not quite the same as what comes out of a well. But it is close enough that government scientists think the process, called fast pyrolysis, is a promising way for farmers to enhance energy security.[Philly .com]

What "sustainability" means for the North Country

by Sarah Harris

NCPR

Excerpts  

The North Country Sustainability Plan was unveiled last week. The plan tackles energy, land use, transportation and water and waste management across seven counties.

The plan's authors found that 94 percent of energy generated in the North Country comes from renewable sources, like hydropower and wind. But the region only consumes 31 percent of that energy – the rest gets exported.

The sustainability plan also makes the case for increased biomass fuel in the region.

[North Country Public Radio]