Climate change is an environmental phenomena that has grabbed the attention of most individuals on a global scale. With the raising of awareness and the realization that protecting our Earth ultimately relies on the altering of society’s mindset and actions, various measures have been taken throughout the past few decades. One of the measures taken towards utilizing alternative energy sources, rather than those increasing our carbon footprint, is the use of biomass. Biomass is defined as “biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms. In the context of biomass for energy this is often used to mean plant based material” (Biomass 2011). Using the topic of biomass for our discussion about climate change, my blog group has focused specifically on wood pellets, and have researched their production, utilization, and effects as a renewable and alternative energy source. However, through this research and discussion, we have found it is not necessarily the case that these pellets are in fact as ‘green’ of an energy source as they are made out to be. This ultimately comes down to the industry of pellet production, which involves a process of “the burning of whole trees in power plants [that] actually increases carbon emissions” (Hammel 2013). Regardless, there has been increasing demands for these pellets of energy in Europe, which is costing to diminishing forests in the US and Canada. The destruction of forests and habitats is almost ironic, as such measures are initially taken to promote a beneficial cause to the environment, when in fact the product is not necessarily all that ‘green’. In conclusion, the members of our climate change blog group have observed that for environmental, economic, and political reasons, the global use of wood pellets should be reassessed, and shifts in production and distribution need to be contemplated and adjusted.
The work was easily divisible among the members of our group, and we took it upon ourselves to educate one another with the information we researched from articles online as well as chapters in our Global Politics textbook. Having multiple people doing research for each component of our blog was helpful and beneficial, as we acquired much needed information -- in some instances, this varied depending on what sources were used. Each one of us had a different amount of initial knowledge on the subject, and doing separate research was necessary for each of us to learn all that we felt we needed to on biomass, wood pellets, and the implications of climate change so as to successfully contribute to the blog posts. Throughout this assignment, it was necessary to determine what information was valuable and relevant to our topic. I felt that each member did a successful job in applying their analyzing skills to the research that they were responsible for, and further incorporating this into each individual blog post. My contributions were centered around research from environmental sources such as EcoWatch; other sources investigated that proved to hold viable information were the US Industrial Pellet Association and Dogwood Alliance. While working on my own, I had visions of how this information would be utilized within our blog, and at times I had to reconsider my approach to suit the work of other members of my group. This was all done in the efforts towards creating a more consistent and easily interpreted blog, and ultimately I saw that working together made it possible to create a successful blog.
Overall, I enjoyed this blog project. I personally had never worked on or written for a blog before, and I’m glad that I now have such an experience under my belt. As far as the information went, I had little knowledge about biomass and more specifically, wood pellets. I have always taken a keen interest in learning about the environment and climate change, and in doing this project, my interests were reflected and enhanced. I also found it interesting that in the first glances into the notion of wood pellets acting as a renewable energy resource, one would assume that it is a beneficial and eco-friendly alternative. However, upon doing further research and consulting with my fellow blog group members, it was concluded that this is not necessarily the case. Researching and reading new articles was not only stimulating, but also aided in improving my critiquing, analyzing, and responsive skills. Aside from learning about the overall information about wood pellets, I was introduced to APA citations as well as producing a blog post in general. In my own studies, I have always found it somewhat of a challenge to work in a group as I am an independent student, however through this blog assignment, I have gained a stronger sense of patience and cooperation in such situations.
Sources:
Biomass Energy Center. (2011). What is biomass? Biomass Energy Center. Retrieved
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Hammel, D. (2013, Sept 4). U.S. becomes largest wood pellet exporter, clear-cutting forests and destroying wetlands. Retrieved from http://ecowatch.com/2013/09/04/wood-pellet-exporter-clearcutting-forests-destroying-wetlands/
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