Using biomass releases CO2, so why is it good for the environment?
Not all CO2 is harmful. In fact, all plants and animals on the planet depend on the natural carbon cycle in the food chain: 1) plants use photosynthesis to convert atmospheric CO2 and sunshine into simple sugars, 2) animals consume plants for food, 3) animals metabolize the sugars into energy and respire CO2 back to the atmosphere, and 4) plants and animals release residual CO2 when they die and decay. Through this natural cycle, CO2 in the atmosphere and biosphere, collectively called the ecosphere, is recycled. Using biomass to generate electricity performs the same function as step 4 in the natural cycle. Because conventional fossil fuels are extracted from deep underground, the combustion process used to generate electricity releases new carbon to the ecosphere. Conversely, renewable biomass recycles carbon that is already in the ecosphere, and therefore is considered by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the administrative arm of the Kyoto Treaty, to be car
