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GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: SOU got it right Comment By Carol Voisin DailyTidings.com By Carol Voisin Posted Mar. 2, 2016 at 11:04 AM By Carol Voisin Posted Mar. 2, 2016 at 11:04 AM » Social News In their “Cognitive dissonance” editorial of Feb. 24, The Ashland Daily Tidings editorial board second-guessed the wisdom of the Financial Committee of the SOU Board of Directors, which recently declined a staff proposal to replace the university’s natural gas power systems with biomass generators. In declining this $6.5 million to $7.5 million-dollar biomass system, the SOU board no doubt had in mind the best interests of both the University and the wider Ashland community, and I believe they made the right decision. Tidings editors might have launched a simple Google search on the “pros and cons of bio-mass energy systems” to reveal the many disadvantages of biomass generators, from soot, ash and CO2 emissions to the high cost of maintenance. Such disadvantages, to which the editors only briefly allude yet at the same time minimize, are considerable, both in human and environmental costs. They include: • Added traffic congestion with up to five large logging trucks a day trundling through our neighborhoods to reach the watershed areas to harvest biowaste. • Damage to our streets caused by this heavy-vehicle traffic, resulting in repair costs that Ashland citizens would have to pay. • Measurably significant addition of emissions from burning bio-waste in biomass generators and the carbon toxins from the truck traffic, all negatively affecting the air we breathe. To view the Ashland watershed as an energy source for the university is to believe in the energy equivalent of pixie dust. The watershed is vital to Ashland’s quality of life, and the importance of its careful management cannot be overstated. Waste from the Ashland Forest Resiliency Program is ephemeral. The most significant work in the foreseeable future involves removal of underbrush through controlled burns. To assume that logging of the watershed will continue indefinitely is unreasonable; continuous logging would significantly endanger the quality of our water via erosion caused by removal of more trees. Bio-waste from our watershed will be insufficient over time to reliably sustain the bio-mass energy generation needed to fuel the university on a 24/7/365-days-a-year basis. SOU has established a deadline of 30 years in which to reach its goal of a carbon-neutral footprint. Like the Tidings editors, we applaud this goal; our difference lies in how best to achieve it. I suggest we focus on renewable energy that is truly renewable and sustainable, namely solar, wind and possibly hydroelectric. Utilizing literally acres of flat rooftops on campus buildings, one can easily imagine a highly efficient and cost-effective installation of solar panels powering the university and even paying for itself by returning excess energy to the grid. The SOU Board is to be applauded. In rejecting the bio-mass energy system, they have demonstrated fiscal responsibility, foresight, and keen sensitivity to broader community needs. Carol Voisin is a member of the Ashland City Council. By Carol Voisin DailyTidings.com By Carol Voisin Posted Mar. 2, 2016 at 11:04 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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