With biomass power’s dangers, wind and photo voltaic needs to be prioritized

To the editor: What may very well be the holy messiah of unpolluted power and wildfire prevention? In line with Noah Haggerty’s article, our savior appears to be biomass power (“California wants biomass power to satisfy its wildfire targets. Its tasks maintain going south,” Sept. 30). However this text doesn’t point out the mountains of analysis that warn towards the harms of carbon seize and storage to the ambiance, ecosystems and the individuals whom such practices are supposed to serve.

Crucially, the mere processing of biomass materials — by way of clearing forests, chopping bushes into wooden chips and transporting supplies over lengthy distances — emits alarming portions of carbon into the ambiance. Together with the high-energy combustion and gasification of the biomass, the “carbon-neutral” or “carbon-negative” claims lose their floor because the internet atmospheric carbon emissions trump those who they suggest to sequester.

As an alternative, public funding ought to prioritize research-backed renewable power sources like photo voltaic and wind to resolve emissions and public well being crises.

Jojo Pak, Berkeley