Great article from Dave Roberts in Grist about biodigestion and biomass energy in Austria. He always gets to the heart of the matter at energy conferences he attends for the magazine. This is how the process described in the article works. One part manure to 30 parts wood chips, straw, or other waste cellulose, that is the carbon. At that nitrogen/carbon ratio, biogas is produced. The manure would combine with carbon in the environment if it were allowed to run off or put directly on fields, producing methane (biogas) that is released into the atmosphere. By trapping and burning the gas in this energy system that methane emission is halted. Thus offsetting 20 times the CO2 that is released by burning the gas.   more »