Scientists Divided On Whether Wood Is Green Fuel

Wood is the object of the debate here. Some researchers are in the favor of considering wood a 'carbon-neutral' fuel, while others stand their ground on the opinion that wood shouldn't be used as a fuel. And with legislations underway for promoting wood as a carbon neutral fuel, it is important to settle once and for all whether wood is a carbon-neutral fuel or not?

According to an article on Wikipedia, 1500 kg of Carbon dioxide is released by burning wood to obtain 3.6 Gigajoules of energy. If the same amount of energy were to be obtained from oil, the emission would only be about 377 kgs. This means that wood has about 5 times the emission amount of oil. So it is clear that wood isn't carbon-neutral by any standards.

And as reported by Volker Quaschning in his book, 'Renewable energy systems', wood has the highest kg of CO2 released per GJ of energy obtained. The CO2 emission capacity of wood even surpasses those of petrol and kerosene.

Ignoring all of this information, a bill of legislation has been drafted considering wood a carbon neutral fuel. Under this bill, trade of wood might even be granted tax benefits, as reported by an article in Science Magazine. If the bill is passed, treating wood as a carbon neutral fuel, it will surely mean the beginning of rapid global deforestation. Profit-hungry corporations and energy-hungry cities together will drive the planet to a smoke filled atmosphere.

As of now, 65 scientists from major universities have penned letters to the U.S senate expressing their protest to this decision. But 100 other scientists have written to the EPA expressing the opposite view. As of now, scientists in the US remain divided over this issue.

The result of this war of opinions will decide the fate of the U.S climate scenario. And if other nations follow the U.S in its decision, the result will decide the climate of the future Earth.