From: Dee Boyle-Clapp <starlightllama@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, June 7, 2019 11:38 AM
To: RPS, DOER (ENE)
Subject: NO to Biomass burning and NO new biomass plants!
Dear Mr. Wassam,
I live in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts with my family. We run a farm and a bed and breakfast, and the land we live on has been in my husband's family for nearly 200 years. The family farmed and ran a sawmill, taking care of their forests to ensure that there would be a continued harvest for generations. We get it, but times have changed.
I am opposed to burning biomass for several reasons.
First, we can no longer burn anything to produce power, but must use every possible resource to switch to clean energy. It is now 50 degrees Celsius in India (122 degrees!) and Greenland was experiencing 85 degree days this spring when it was too cold for us to garden.
Second, the air quality in the Pioneer Valley is poor, and two in my family of three people developed asthma when we moved here (we are nonsmokers). Adding to that pollution is a terrible idea, and biomass is the worst idea I have heard in some time.
Third, we NEED, yes, need the biomass from forests to use as hugelkulture to create gardens, and as we realize the impact of drought, we will need the tree slash/residue to rebuild the soil, hold moisture, and create not only good fill, but compost. These gifts from our forests/woods and even urban cutting needs to be looked at as a source of potential mulch, and in renewable gardening (hugelkulture) is seen as the basis of gardens. Every city and town park, school, senior center, and community garden should be seen as a site for storing this wood.
Finally, we are at a pivotal point in our climate. We need each and every tree, and we need to stop the creation of any new carbon in the atmosphere. We need each existing tree to hold its carbon. By insisting that foresters and others find a lasting home for their slash and cut green trees, we may incentivize less clear cutting for home building, and more of an effort to save standing trees and address the reality that cutting and burning trees hurts us all.
Do not approve of a biomass burning facility in Palmer/Springfield or anywhere in Massachusetts.
Dee Boyle-Clapp
940 Chesterfield Road
Florence MA 01062