U.S. Billion-ton Update: Biomass Supply for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry

The Report, Biomass as Feedstock for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply (generally referred to as the Billion-Ton Study or 2005 BTS), was an estimate of “potential” biomass within the contiguous United States based on numerous assumptions about current and future inventory and production capacity, availability, and technology. In the 2005 BTS, a strategic analysis was undertaken to determine if U.S. agriculture and forest resources have the capability to potentially produce at least one billion dry tons of biomass annually, in a sustainable manner—enough to displace approximately 30% of the country’s present petroleum consumption. To ensure reasonable confidence in the study results, an effort was made to use relatively conservative assumptions. However, for both agriculture and forestry, the resource potential was not restricted by price. That is, all identified biomass was potentially available, even though some potential feedstock would more than likely be too expensive to actually be economically available. In addition to updating the 2005 study, this report attempts to address a number of its shortcoming

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Bioenergy and agriculture: Promises and challenges: Developing Bioenergy

PRIFPRI1; GRP4; 2020DSGD; DG

Developing bioenergy economic and social issues: bioenergy and agriculture promises and challenges

"... There is a clear link between access to energy services and poverty alleviation and development. The first set of critical energy needs are those that satisfy basic human needs: fuel for cooking, heating and lighting, energy for pumping water, and electricity for health and education services. The second set of critical energy needs are those that provide energy for income-generating activities that help break the cycle of poverty... Bioenergy could make multiple contributions to the fight to eradicate poverty and improve food security. In developed countries, shifting land use toward biomass for energy would reduce dumping in the commodity markets and give developing-country farmers access to higher prices. In developing countries, the production of energy in concert with sustainable food production and the sustainable use of local resources could also result in higher incomes for farmers and added energy services for the community, all of which would enhance the community's ability to develop economic activity designed to reduce poverty and enhance food security." from TextBioenergy, Agriculture, Biomass energy, Economic situation, Social benefits, Rural development, Energy production, Exports Developing countries, Sustainability,

Economic Comparison of Woody Biomass Harvesting Strategies in United States

Concern over energy security and the greenhouse gases emissions associated with burning fossil fuels has led to increased national interest in bioenergy production. In the United States, adoption of a Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requires domestic production of renewable fuels to increase from 14 billion gallons per year (according to the Renewable Fuels Association) to 36 billion gallons per year by 2022. Woody biomass could be a significant component of an RFS portfolio. Woody biomass is collected from logging residue, forest thinning, and small diameter timber. These forest products can be sustainably harvested, and are predictable and reliable in terms of production. Woody biomass has potential to become a primary bioenergy feedstock for heat and co-fire power plants as well as cellulosic-derived biofuels. The QUESTION remains how much and what kind of woody biomass can be sustainability supplied, where is this likely to occur, and at what price will woody biomass products be available