1336 Wood I?

The eternal question came to mind the other day. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
It came to mind because I was driving behind an Asplundh wood truck and there was a sign on the back that said, “free wood chips.” And I thought, aha. One man’s waste is another man’s mulch—or even beauty bark.
And then I thought about the controversy over the new biomass plant in Shelton. Some residents want it. Some don’t. Some see it as an industry that will employ people. Some see it as an industry that will pollute the area beyond recognition.
Some think of it as a great way of getting rid of wood waste. Others see it as an excuse to level forests. Renewable fuel or greenhouse gas maker? It’s a tough one. Build it or skip it and find a greener industry that can employ folks. Burn it or chuck it.
What would a woodchuck do?
I was reading a different government study on particulate matter in the atmosphere in the South Sound region and it said our air pollution has gone down in the last decade, largely because we curtailed the use of woodstoves. The proposed biomass burning plant will add the equivalent of 150,000 woodstoves to the atmosphere.
If you ever went out on a cold January morning 10 years ago and saw the pall of smoke hanging over the area, you got an idea of how 1/10 of that will look.
Then again, we need to do something for renewable energy. BP oil spills are no environmental fun either. Still, you’d think we could actually make a technological step forward.
Wasn’t burning wood the preferred energy choice of, um, Neanderthals?
They ate woodchucks didn’t they?
America, ya gotta love it.