Biomass Pros and Cons Panel

Williams College panel discussion titled “The Pros and Cons of Burning Biomass for Electricity” held on Oct. 28, in Griffin Hall was an informative and engaging event.   For those unable to attend or want to review some of the material presented, click on the links to the presentations included below.  Also, Willinet will air a videotape of the panel on Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 9 p.m. on channel 17 in Williamstown and repeat it on a schedule that will be available at Willinet.

Henry Art, Rosenburg Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology, has taught at Williams since 1970 and played key roles in many local environmental organizations, including the Williamstown Conservation Committee, Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation, and Williamstown Recycling Committee.  Nationally, he has served as an evaluator of the National Park Service’s Natural Landmarks Program and has received several grants from the National Science Foundation. At Williams he teaches courses in environmental biology and environmental studies.  Click: Art Biomass Ecology

David Dethier, the Edward Brust Professor of Geology and Mineralogy has served as chair of the geosciences department and as director of the college’s Science Center and its Hopkins Memorial Forest. His research interests include the geochemistry and hydrology of surface and ground water systems, and sustainable sources of energy and their environmental impacts.  Before coming to Williams in 1982, he worked as a geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Click: Dethier-Hydrology and Wind

Geoff Hand, partner in the law firm of Shems Dunkiel Raubvogel & Saunders PLLC, has worked on permitting for various energy generation projects.  His practice focuses primarily on state and federal environmental litigation, renewable energy development, and land-use law.  He has handled a range of permitting issues for numerous commercial-scale renewable energy projects in Vermont and has litigated cases before Vermont’s Environmental Court, Public Service Board, and Supreme Court, as well as in federal courts across the U.S. Click:  Hand – Biomass Permitting

Richard Ney, head of the Eco-Management Services Division of the environmental consulting firm Sebesta Blomberg & Associates, provides environmental consulting services to industrial clients on matters that include air quality permitting, the modeling of air pollutant dispersion, and the determination of best available and maximum achievable control technologies. He has evaluated control options for standard-criteria pollutants and toxic air pollutants, and has worked extensively on the quantification of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration. Click: Ney-Environmental Biomass