By Kathy Morrison
After sitting at the blinking computer yesterday (literally - my laptop screen is going), for hours on end, researching the stink issues, and then roaming the house, sleeping part of the night in bed, part on the sofa, and part on the kitchen floor with an injured barn cat, I got thinking about the Digester (what's new?) and electricity consumption. The Fremont Digester creates methane gas used for the production of electricity which most of us (okay, all of us, if you are reading this) use. There are many ways to create electricity, some more ecologically sound than others. In the cycle of the 3R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, we often neglect the first and most important - REDUCE. As a kid, my siblings and I were hounded by my Dad, a product of the Great Depression, to, "You kids - turn the lights off!" What we thought was material for eye rolling and "Oh, gosh, Dad", I now see as a valuable lesson - Reduce. Do I need to leave lights on in a room where no one is using them? Probably not - definitely not! As I moved into my teen, and adult years, my Dad had already left me in good nick when it comes to automatically shutting lights off and think more deeply about energy usage. Does it matter? Yes, it does. Energy consumption is a choice. I do not plan to go off the grid, and for now, I use commercially generated electricity. Can I follow the first R of the three Rs more diligently? Definitely. If we all followed my Dad's lead would it matter? Most definitely. The more times we reduce our electricity usage, the fewer times a problematic or polluting electric plant needs to be created and placed somewhere. Whether it is coal, solar, wind, biogas Digester, nuclear or any other type of electric creation facility, they all come with their own unique problems for the environment and for those of us who live near to them. As I train and, at times re-train myself, to make shutting off the lights an automatic habit, I can thank my Dad for starting me early on what has become a passion for me - trying to do less damage to the Earth. So now, at 4 a.m. and for this still tired insomniac, "Lights off, Kathy".
Alyssa
8/16/2019 07:31:13 am
Ok. So reduce your electricity use to stop power plants from being built or used. Here's a couple things you forget.
Kathy
8/16/2019 10:53:02 am
Alyssa, my point was that we should all reduce our use of electricity through thoughtful action. It was not an analysis of electric production facilities. By reducing our need, we reduce our need for facilities in the first place. However, since it was brought up, Biodigester may be a part of the solution to an alternative for food waste being landfilled, but Biodigesters have to get it right and be operated in a manner that does not add further environmental problems like odor and air quality issues. The waste water digestate that is used as fertilizer is of low nutrient value. There are better sources of fertilizer for our area farmlands. All that the lagoons really do, is serve as a cheap way for the Fremont Digester to get rid of their waste at the expense of people who now live in hell near the lagoons. If Digester companies in the U.S. were banned from paying farms handsomely to take it away, store it, and spread it, those farmers would not want anything to do with it. In our case locally, the waste water could be treated by the Fremont Digester if they had built a waste water treatment plant on site in the first place. I am sorry that our area is a guinea pig for Digesters for food waste by this company and the company they hired to run it. The company that owns the Fremont Digester is having legal issues in NY fo breaches of environmental regulations. Google Generate Capital + New York. If the parent company cannot hire competent subcontractors to run these plants, then that does not ease my mind. If we are to have this recycling of food waste for energy in our community, then let's have it done right by a company that can prove they know how to do it right.
Alyssa
8/16/2019 11:38:32 am
You contradict yourself too much to make sense.
Kathy
8/17/2019 05:05:53 am
Generate Capital ownng the facility in NY and ours in Fremont has everything to do with the issue. They obviously have a problem contracting with the right people to manage. Ours in Fremont is a food waste digester being operated by Dynamic, a Wisconsin based company who run manure Digesters, which are a different type of digester. It is my understanding from EGLE, that Dynamic has no prior experience with a food waste digester. They most definitely are having issues. They are not doing everything mandated by the state or there would be no reason for EGLE to be involved to the extreme level that they are, trying to make them get their facility and lagoons in compliance with odor issues. So in essence, we are guinea pigs if this is a first time experience with this type of digester for Dynamic who is now struggling to get it right. And regardless of how much experience any company may or may not have with a particular method or system, if they have problems, they need to get it right. But wouldn't it be nice if they had gotten it right in the first place? Many people in parts of Fremont, Brunswick, Holton, and beyond think so. Comments are closed.
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