Survival Products Blog

Is wood the next big thing?

Images of a wood fire this time of year probably hearken back to childhood memories of holiday cheer and a toasty crackling fireplace. (Chestnuts roasting, stockings hung with care, and all that.) But wood as an energy source goes way beyond yuletide cheer, it's the largest source of energy currently derived from solid fuel biomass, which is a fancy word for naturally occurring alternatives to fossil fuels.

One might think that wood as a fuel source hasn't changed much since the days of Robin Hood in Nottingham Forrest, and in truth it hasn't! But advances in technology combined with old-fashioned timber provide a heat source that burns cleaner than fossil fuels (in terms of CO2 but also doesn't emit mercury) or even wood made from corn, and wood can be compressed into pellets to burn in super-efficient pellet stoves.

And that is the key. Today's wood burning appliances, including pellet appliances, are super efficient and an excellent source of heat for your home. Plus, wood naturally emits methane when it decomposes, but it doesn't when it is burned--so if scraps and residues from logging and processing are used as a source of biofuel, it not only leaves less of a carbon footprint than fossil fuels, but eliminates a potential methane footprint as well. (Wood stoves should get a Nobel Peace prize?)

Not that we want to start clear-cutting forests to produce wood for fuel--but wood production isn't the main cause of deforestation anyway (blame conversion to agricultural land for that). In fact, a great thing about wood fuel is that it can be made from recycled wood waste. Earlier this year, a city in Alabama launched the nation's first program for collecting municipal wood waste and converting it into ethanol for use as an automotive biofuel. Under the program, tree limbs from curbside collection will be broken down by heat and pressure into raw materials, which will then be combined to produce ethanol. The company behind the operation said it could soon be producing 45 million gallons of the fuel annually.

So, if wood can power your car, imagine what it can do for your living room!