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**// BioMassters // **  ** Plants and trees for all your energy needs! **


 * Our mission is to save the world and provide you with clean energy for the future!**

__** Board of Directors **__ **Lamis Elsawah- President** Elizabeth Bauman- Manager **  What on Earth is Biomass?!  How Biomass Works!
 * Grace Eppinger- Vice President **
 * Redmond Watson- Secretary

Biomass is basically everything around us. Corn, trees, wheat, algae, garbage, and even animal waste! Biomass is really when plants store the sun's energy in their leaves in a process known as [|photosynthesis]. The energy is then distributed to everything that plant needs to grow. While this is happening, the plant is taking in another compound. The plant is taking in and storing CO2 or Carbon Dioxide. When the plant is burned, it gives off the sun's energy and the CO2. When this happens a small amount turns into useable energy. So, as you can see the picture below states plants can give off energy that we can later use through photosynthesis.  With all this information we have, one might think, "Why are people fretting so much about corn?" Well it's not corn itself, but a chemical in the corn. When corn is grounded, you then have a bunch of sugars. When these sugars are combined with the right chemicals they form a substance called e//thanol.// When this mixture is combined with fossil fuels such as gas, it makes it more efficient than it would be on its own. When put in a vehicle such as a train or car, it will run longer on that particular gas. Another way to make biomass is by burning wood and releasing steam that turns a generator.

Biomass has already become a major sensation around the globe and with your help, it could be coming to Upper Merion Township soon!

 Why Use Biomass?  Pros and Cons of Biomass

Biomass is a really great alternative energy source for Upper Merion. Although it has its disadvantages, like any other energy source, biomass also has tons of pros!

Biomass is renewable. Plants can be grown over and over again and many of the plants used in biomass renew themselves naturally. Unlike fossil fuels, plants and trees don't take millions of years to grow.

Biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel can replace fossil fuels when they are used in engines and furnaces. Only small changes need to be made for the biofuels to be used.

Biomass is actually a natural process. The plants would give off heat naturally as they decomposed. So, we are just speeding up something natural!

Another source of biomass is our garbage, also known as municipal solid waste (MSW). Food scraps, lawn clippings, and leaves are examples of biomass trash that is used to produce energy. Trash is burned to produce steam that can be used either to heat buildings or to generate electricity in waste-to-energy plants (these types of plants use garbage to fire an industrial broiler). This means that some of the trash that we don't use can be turned into energy without costing anything!

However, biomass requires large amounts of land to grow and harvest the crops and to grow the trees. Here at BioMassters, we have a solution. Scientists have discovered that fast-growing algae with lots of oil in them can be made into biodiesel. Algae can be grown in shallow ponds and don't take up much room. In fact, one acre of land could hold enough algae to make //15,000// gallons of biodiesel!

Another problem with biomass is deforestation. Biomass companies sometimes cut down lots of trees and never replant them, which harms our environment. BioMassters makes sure that every tree we cut down is replanted. We will also be launching a program where if you send in a dollar, we will plant a tree so the amount of CO2 in the air will decrease.

Lastly, using food for biofuels could cause food shortages and higher food prices. The price of corn is high right now because so many people are using ethanol. This means more farmers are planting corn and not growing enough wheat. However, if we give farmers more money for the wheat they grow, we will be able to solve this problem.  Biomass Through the Ages Past, Present, and Future

People have used biomass since wood was burned for warmth and cooking. Some of the earliest car engines ran on biofuels. Biomass was the main source of energy in the United States until the mid 1800s when people started using fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and gas to light and heat homes and to use as fuels for cars and factories. Since the early 1990s ethanol has been blended into gasoline to reduce harmful <span style="font-size: 150%; color: #6e3711; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(1,167,9);"> monoxide emissions.

Today, biomass provides about 3% of the energy used in the U.S. In fact, California produces more than 60 million tons of biomass each year. Some other countries depend on biomass as well. It is the most used renewable energy resource in the United Kingdom and 13% of the world's primary energy. Many cars in Brazil run on ethanol made from sugar cane.

The future of biomass looks great. People in the U.S. are trying to develop ways to burn more biomass and less fossil fuels. A company in Australia has permission to plant 12 million mallee trees, a type of Eucalyptus tree. The trees will be burned to create energy. Scientists are also looking into growing algae to make biodiesel. Carmakers are changing engines so that they can run on biofuels.

Biomass is obviously an energy that has existed for a long time and BioMassters believes it will stay and provide Upper Merion with energy.

<span style="font-size: 150%; color: #f3f41f; font-family: Impact, Charcoal, sans-serif; background-color: #131ecd;">Biomass: The Energy Upper Merion Needs!

Let's face it. Fossil fuels are not the best energy source. They take millions of years to form and release harmful chemicals into the air. Upper Merion needs a change. A change to a better energy resource. A cleaner one. That's why BioMassters believes in biomass. <span style="font-size: 150%; color: #6e3711; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(1,167,9);"> Look around your neighborhood. There are a lot of trees, right? Those very trees can be used to produce biomass. Upper Merion has tons of trees and all of them could be heating your home and saving the world at the same time!

Food scraps, leaves, lawn clippings...you may walk by them without a second glance. But really, those materials can be used to produce biomass. We do not have to pay extra money for the resources to produce biomass energy.

Upper Merion is able to use this resource without harming the environment, taking up a lot of space, or harming natural species. With new and innovated technologies, Upper Merion can soon have enough electricity that we can power the whole township with ease!

Biomass was, is, and will be an important energy resource for the world, as well as Upper Merion Township.

//For further information or help, contact us at// **BioMassters@Alt.Energy.com** //or call us at// **1-866-BIO-ENERGY**

Credited sources: [|http://dictionary.reference.com] http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts http://www.renegy.com/images/BiomassCycleChart_001.gif Clipart