RE: Research Topics

["Knowles, Dave" <dknowles@antaresgroupinc.com>]

> Kevin Chisholm wrote:
> People usually blame Lawyers for the troubles of Society, but 
> in the case of
> Biomass, I think the villains are the Accountants. :-) Where 
> they err is by
> failing to point out where Biomass is really good 
> (environmental impact) and
> really bad (physical handling properties) in a way that these 
> features are
> "digitized with a dollar value." If this was done, it would 
> be very apparent
> what the REAL REASONS were for why biomass is not in generally more
> widespread use.
> 

Actually, Kevin, I think you can blame consumerism.  We live in a monetized
society.  Unless you can convert benefits into money, they don't exist (try
trading "goodwill" into groceries).  It's not the job of accountants to
assign non-monetary value to revenues or assets.
In the U.S., consumers have spoken: they aren't interested in paying for
green energy, even though they say they might.  They are interested in
driving SUVs and pickup trucks, and having lots of eletrical devices in
their homes.  
Sustainability must be monetized through policy (i.e., laws, tax credits,
RPS, etc).  Otherwise, biomass has to compete with the incumbents on their
own terms.  Until you get the politicians to go along, you are not going to
change the economic systems currently in place.

D. Knowles

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