Kristianstad, a town in Sweden, vowed a decade ago to stop using fossil fuels. It was a big goal, but the city’s population of 80000 uses no gas or oil to heat houses during the winters. While the people have installed solar panels and wind turbines, it generates energy mostly from an assortment of ingredients, like potato peels, stale cookies, and pig intestines. An old plant takes these items and turns them into a form of methane called biogas. The gas is burned to create heat or electricity, and can be refined for use as car fuel. Over the past several years, European countries have relied more on renewable energy, mostly because of fossil fuels are expensive and overuse of fossil fuels leads to taxation. However, Kristianstad has reduced its fossil fuel use by a quarter. Biogas systems are rare in the United States, with only 151 biomass digesters that only use manure. These systems have been limited due to high costs and little financing. However, a number of companies are considering investment, and two California companies filed for permission to turn organic waste into biogas. The costs for the Swedish plants were substantial at first, but the payback has been significant due to the fact that biogas is less expensive to run and creates jobs for people. Kristianstad is now hoping that by 2020, local emissions will go down by 40 percent, which would eliminate emissions completely. They are also trying to build more biogas filling stations.
I chose this article because fossil fuels are becoming harder to find and use, and using biogas may be a way of delaying or preventing the loss of fossil fuels. If biogas becomes more widely used, Kristianstad will become known as the town that first used biogas.
Overall, this article was well written, but it had a few flaws. The explanation of “district heating” was confusing and unnecessary, as it was worded in a way that was unclear. I enjoyed this article and hope to learn more about biogas. This technology may become more widespread and useful in the future.
Rosenthal, Elisabeth. "Using Waste, Swedish City Cuts Its Fossil Fuel Use." NY Times 10 Dec. 2010. NY Times. 10 Dec. 2010. Web. 11 Dec. 2010.
1 comment:
1. The review did an excellent job of communicating the amazing efforts of this town to eliminate fossil fuels.
2. The review effectively explained the cost of such systems but how helpful they can be when widely used.
3. The author successfully summed up the article and presented the topic well.
1. The author could have expanded more on why California doesn’t expand using this technology when it seems so beneficial.
2. The author also could have clarified on its costs because some of the points seem contradictory.
1. I was really impressed to see a town taking such strong initiative in this area of science.
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