The world depends heavily on fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas for energy, and while

The U.S obtains more than 84% of its energy from fossil fuels including oil, coal and natural gas. This is because people rely on it to heat their homes, power industries, run vehicles, manufacturing, and provision of electricity. It is apparent that the country’s transportation industry highly depends on conventional petroleum oil, which is responsible for global warming, thus threatening economic opulence and national security. Apart from that, increasing consumption of fossil fuels have elevated health problems in the state, destroyed wild places, and polluted the environment. After conducting Environmental Impact Assessment, projections showed that the world energy consumption would increase by more than 56% between 2010 and 2040. However, fossil fuels will cater for more than 80% of the total energy used in 2040. Sadly, it will be a trajectory to alter the world’s climate, as well as, weaken the global security environment. Importantly, the rate at which the US relies on fossil fuels needs to reduce since it has adverse effects on the planet’s supplies. The society needs to realize that fossil fuels are nonrenewable, thus taking millions of years to form (Huebner, 2003). Notably, the country can reduce dependency on fossil fuels by practicing energy conservation and efficiency,

However, despite its many advantages biomass still has many disadvantages. Firstly it is not as efficient as fossil fuels, for example the ethanol produced for cars via biomass is not even close to the efficiency of petrol and does damage to engines over time. It also has the potential to harm the environment through increase of methane gases which are produced as a bi-product if animal and human waste is used. Biomass also requires a large distance away from residential areas in order to burn it and a large amount of fuel in comparison to other energy sources which can have dramatic effects if large portions of forests are cut down to provide lumber.1

The United States relies heavily on fossil fuels as its main source of energy and with the limited supply, we 'll have to develop and utilize alternative sources for clean, renewable, cheap and effective energy to power this country and the world into the future. It will be important for the health of our planet to utilize renewable resources that have no greenhouse gas emission. Out of necessity the world will eventually need to stop using fossil fuels for energy.

Biomass energy is a renewable energy source from living or recently living plant and animal materials which can be used as fuel. There are many ways in which we could produce this energy such as heat and steam. Also, instead of leaving waste in landfills, we’re reusing that waste and converting it into usable power. Pros: 1. Renewable. 2. Dependency on Fossil Fuels is Reduced 3. Protects air quality 4. Improves forest health. Cons: 1. Not 100% clean. 2. Requires a lot of water. 3. Not as efficient as fossil fuels.

Being such a necessary and overused resource makes it a hotly contested subject and global issue. The United States is one of the biggest importers and users of oil in the world, which makes our need of it a major influence on several global markets. Our heavy reliance on dirty fuels, as well as every other industrialized country in the world, will lead to massive effects on the climate of our Earth. This in addition, has led to violence and war, particularly in the Middle East, over the ownership and distribution of oil and other energy resources, which in the end only serves to profit big oil industries. This problem will not stop or slow down, as the demand for energy will only increase as the world’s population and global economy continues to expand. For mainly these reasons, which will be handled more in-depth throughout this paper, the need for clean alternative energy is paramount and must be addressed within the foreseeable future should we otherwise suffer the consequences.

In the article, the Burning Question, the issue of biomass energy via wood pellets was brought to question. This subject has deeply divided scientists, primarily from the chemistry and environmental science disciplines, economists, and politicians. Currently the use of wood pellets for energy, under the European Union, is classified as a carbon-neutral fuel. The argument for this designation lies in the regeneration of trees to take up the carbon released from burning past trees. However, many scientists call foul, basing their argument on the substantial lag period between burning trees and the regeneration of them. This period has led many to worry that such actions will worsen the current global warming crisis. Biomass energy plants produce,

The 20th century witnessed the discovery of substantial petroleum reserves in America, with domestic production peaking in the 1970s (Campbell, 2002), which serves as the primary fuel in the country. Since then, there has been a steady decline in production. However, recent economic growth has resulted in increased demand, making the United States one of the largest consumers of fuel in the world. Other fuels such as gas and coal, despite their significant domestic supplies, are also facing increased danger of exhaustion (E.W.G, 2007), necessitating the need for America to start weaning itself off these fossil fuels. In addition to these, the impact of these fuels on the environment and the atmosphere also necessitate the country to reconsider its energy sources. If we are able to decrease domestic use of fossil fuels, increase the amount of public transportation and deliver more innovation in alternative energy we could significantly decrease our dependence on fossil fuels.

How does biomass work? Our project is on Biomass Energy. Biomass energy is a renewable energy resource from living or recently living plants or animals materials which can be used as fuel. Many different types of biomass is wood, dead plants, dead animals, garbage, corn. Biomass is a renewable energy source because the energy in it comes from the sun, but also because biomass/bioenergy can grow again over a short period of time compared with the long time that it takes to grow fossil fuels. Through the process of photosynthesis, chlorophyll in plants captures the sun's energy by converting carbon dioxide from the water and air from the ground into carbohydrates. When burned, they turn back into water and carbon dioxide and release the energy

The solution to this stability issue is through biomass production. Humans have relied on combustible biomass for heat and energy for as long as the existence of man. In recent years, both the U.S. and the world have shown greater interest in generating heat and energy from biomass. This includes direct firing (biomass as the sole fuel), co-firing (biomass burned with coal), cogeneration (heat from burned biomass captured to produce more energy), and gasification (gas captured from heated biomass and then burned). The U.S. is one of the global leaders in export of wood pellets for energy use. In addition, crop residue, grasses, and many kinds of waste materials are increasingly pelletized by the United States for energy. Biodiversity has declined significantly as the grasslands of the Prairie Pothole Region have been lost to other uses. This resurgence of bioenergy interest in the Prairie Pothole Region, and potential to produce energy crops on productive cropland, combine to offer opportunity to produce both biomass and contribute

Biomass has become one of the most commonly used renewable sources of energy in the last two decades. Many of the biomass fuels used today come in the form of wood products, dried vegetation, crop residues, and aquatic plants. It is such a widely utilized source of energy, probably due to its low cost and indigenous nature, that it accounts for almost 14% of the world 's total energy supply and as much as 35% in developing countries, mostly for cooking and heating. The wood from trees is most common biomass used for energy. It has been used by humans for producing energy for heating and cooking for a very long time. Biomass cannot replace our current dependence on coal, oil, and natural gas, but it can complement other renewables such as solar and wind energy. To converted biomass into usable energy in ways that are more efficient, less polluting, and at least as economical, technological innovations will be needed. Gasification is considered as a key technology for the use of biomass. In order to promote this technology in the future, advanced, cost effective, and highly efficient gasification processes and systems are required. Generally all different types of biomass can be converted by gasification into syngas mainly comprising hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and methane. . From this syngas, all kinds of energy or energy carriers such as heat, power, biofuels, hydrogen, biomethane and chemicals can be provided.

Unlike gasoline or diesel, biofuels release little pollution. It can also be used to produce electricity by heating water using biofuels and using the steam produced to rotate a turbine. Another method is to allow the biofuel to decay and produce methane. Methane is commonly used as fuel for car, heating, cooking, and producing electricity.

The world today is a place of rapid progress and scientific advancement, which has been going strong for the last few decades. This period will gradually begin to slow down and eventually stop altogether because the world will, quite literally, run out of fuel. Right now, the majority of all the energy used in the day-to-day lives and operations of the entire world population are nonrenewable. This energy is created from the fossil fuels: coal, petroleum and natural gas. Fossil fuels are still cheap and high in supply, but the rate at which we are consuming them, which is only expected to increase, vastly exceeds the rate at which they regenerate. This creates the aforementioned problem of mankind running out of the required natural resources to fuel its own energy demands. The only solution to this problem that is possible, is to begin placing more influence renewable sources of energy and doing so as soon as possible. Renewable energy sources include solar, wind, hydroelectric and geothermal power. Each of these are insignificant alone, but as a group they become a viable alternative to nonrenewable energy sources. Together, they have the potential to replace the fossil fuels as our primary provider of energy. Although there are many that argue against the use of renewable energy it is vital that the United States government makes the implementation and widespread use of renewable energy sources mandatory.

Fossil Fuels have been a point of concern among environmentalist due to its harmful effects on the environment. The potential for alternative energy has been thoroughly studied concerning the use of forest biomass. Replacing fuels with biomass could reduce our foreign dependence on petroleum and minimize CO2 emissions. When considering the benefits "forest biomass can provide a domestic energy resource, create local jobs and provide financial incentives to forest owners" Studies have shown that biomass supply "ranging from 4.2-15.1 million metric tons/yr used in the most efficient current technology, forest biomass energy would constitute 1.4-5.5% of the entire region's current energy consumption". The region's size, population and energy consumption would determine the greater or lesser benefit, which would be received by the use of biomass. The use of biomass would also create jobs around the world, due to the fact that it

When burned, it gives off atmospheric pollutants, including greenhouse gases. If crops are not replanted, biomass is a non-renewable resource.

Bioenergy is a form of energy that is taken from biological sources known as biomass. Materials like manure, wood and wood manufacturing wastes and other biodegradable by-products from the agricultural industry are some examples of biomass. Biomass can also be derived from waste products from industrial, commercial and domestic activities (EECA, 2014).