The Waste to Wisdom project is researching how to convert forest residues to bioenergy and bio-based products.
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Biofuel blend powers airliner from Seattle to D.C.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide, provide oxygen, create habitat for wildlife, and … fuel jet engines?
A recent Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Washington, D.C. was powered by a blend of biofuel and traditional jet fuel. The biofuel made up one fifth of the mixture. It was created from the limbs and branches left-over after a forest was logged.
Michael Wolcott is the co-project director of the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance, the group that made the biofuel blend. [Read more…]
On the rise: Mass timber buildings under construction worldwide
Big timber is sprouting up in cities in North America and abroad. After years of feasibility studies and design proposals, buildings six stories or taller constructed primarily from pre-engineered wood products are being considered in cities around the world.
In London, one proposal, called the Splinter, would rise to 100 stories. In Chicago, Perkins+Will (in collaboration with Thornton Tomasetti and the University of Cambridge) has designed an 80-story high-rise with 300 duplex apartments. If built, River Beech—a key component of P+W’s master plan for the Riverline development—would be made almost entirely from mass timber. [Read more…]
Can ‘re-greening’ the planet make economic sense?
In our “climate” section, Treesource.org will cover all aspects of forest, climate and weather interactions, from drought-stressed forests and their susceptibility to insects, diseases and wildfires to the upheaval caused by an overabundance of water. We’ll examine how hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms and other severe weather can affect forests and how forests can mitigate those impacts. Finally, we will explore how forests and climate change interact, including urban forests, forest reserves and forests that produce wood for commercial use. [Read more…]