[SustainableTompkins] Home Heating with Biomass Seminar Thursday

[GayNicholson at aol.com]

Don't miss this comprehensive renewable energy seminar!
 
 
Wondering how high prices for  fuel oil, propane, and natural gas will go 
this winter? Thinking about finding  another way to heat your home? The Green 
Resource Hub of the Finger  Lakes and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins 
County will  present “Home Heating with Biomass” on Thursday, Nov. 29 from 7 
to 9  p.m. at Home Green Home on the Commons in  Ithaca. There is a $5 fee, and 
light  refreshments will be provided. 
With rising energy costs and  concerns around global climate change, many 
people are seeking alternatives to  fossil fuels.  The Finger Lakes  Region has 
plentiful soil and water resources for growing our own biomass fuel  sources in 
a sustainable manner. This consumer education program will review  biomass 
options for heating your home that can help reduce energy costs and  emissions 
of fossil carbon. 
Mike Leach, president of Ithaca  Stoveworks, will begin the seminar with an 
overview of the pros and cons of  heating your home with different types of 
biomass, including cordwood, wood  pellets, corn, and grass pellets. He will 
cover stove types, fuel  efficiencies and availability, costs, and safety. Leach 
has taught wood heating  technology at Tompkins-Cortland Community College. 
Professor Jerry Cherney of  Cornell  University’s Crop and Soil Sciences  
Department will give an update on progress toward creating a commercial market  
system for using grass pellets for residential and commercial  heating.  
Perennial grasses may offer one of the most sustainable biomass  production systems 
for heating buildings. 
Dr. Tony Nekut is a local forest  landowner working on developing a regional 
infrastructure for space heating with  wood chips from culled forest trees.  
Dr. Nekut will share information on  European systems and describe how we might 
develop a way to meet all local  demand for space heating with locally 
produced biomass. 
The Green Resource Hub’s winter  seminar series also includes classes at Home 
Green Home on choosing the best  insulation system for your home (December 
13) and small hydropower systems for  rural landowners (January 17). 
The  Green Resource Hub of the Finger Lakes is a non-profit  organization 
that aims to expand the regional marketplace for sustainable living  through 
consumer education and workforce training in green building, energy  efficiency, 
renewable energy and green purchasing.
----------------------------------------------------
Gay  Nicholson, Ph.D. 

607-533-7312 (home office)
607-279-6618  (cell)

1 Maple Avenue
Lansing, NY  14882
gaynicholson at aol.com

Sustainable Tompkins 
Program  Coordinator 
w_ww.sustainabletompkins.org_ (http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/) 

Southern Tier Energy$mart Communities
Regional  Coordinator
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County
615 Willow  Ave., Ithaca, NY 14850
agn1 at cornell.edu




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