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Town Seeks Energy Independence

In a rural Virginia town, not far outside of Washington, D.C., talk about slowing global warming has turned to action.

The town’s mayor, an international trade consultant with lots of big ideas, is pushing to build a $30 million plant at the county dump that would convert garbage, construction and agricultural waste, manure and other materials into enough energy to fuel the whole town.

A biomass project of this size has never been attempted. But Mayor George Fitch said he’s happy to be the first to try it. He believes the plant could generate up to 10 million gallons of ethanol a year and enough electricity to power every home in this town of 8,000 people, all while keeping greenhouse gas emissions to a minimum.

It’s not such a far-fetched idea. Researchers have been developing the technology for biomass, albeit on a smaller scale, for years. And Virginia is the ideal place for growing switch grass, one of several key crops used in this process. Some believe east coast farms could become central to plans to produce ethanol from biomass, which has gained support in recent years as people look for alternatives to burning fossil fuels.

The question is, will it work on a large scale? The answer could soon be found in a little place known as Warrenton, Virginia.

To learn more about this story, go to The Washington Post.

To learn more about the town’s plans, click here.

To learn more about how to prevent or slow global warming, visit www.fightglobalwarming.com.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org