Conference Report: Biomass for a clean-energy future
Bioenergy Australia [101], an alliance of 86 government and private sector organizations with an interest in the development of sustainable energy and products from biomass, held its 11th annual conference in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in December 2010. Several speakers reminded delegates that bioenergy is complex, not well understood and therefore tends to be considered as the ‘poor renewable energy cousin’ to hydro, wind, solar and geothermal energy. This perception remains a problem for the industry, even though bioenergy provides nearly 4% of Australia’s total primary energy supply [1] (approximately 71% of renewable energy in Australia [2]). Bioenergy is a difficult concept and story to grasp for policy makers and the general public since it encompasses a mystifyingly wide range of feedstocks (from municipal wastes to purpose-grown energy crops) that can each be converted via numerous routes into either heat, electricity, liquid or gaseous fuels for the purpose of transport, biochemicals or biomaterials. Therefore, what the ‘best use’ is for the available biomass can be difficult to determine. Those attending the wide variety of presentations would have come away with a good understanding of what biomass has to offer as a clean-energy source, both now and in the future. Unfortunately, only a few delegates represented the farming, local-municipal authority and financial sectors. These are three key sectors that need to fully understand the complexities of bioenergy if the industry is to progress at the rate of deployment needed to significantly contribute to energy demand and meet its full potential. This annual event, successfully coordinated since 1999 by Steve Schuck, Manager of Bioenergy Australia, highlights the role of biomass from a national and international perspective. Good progress has been made over the past decade, although at times, as some of the papers from 2010 showed, it seems like three steps forward and two steps back (or at least sideways). The issue now is, how to move forward in giant strides. There were 330 delegates at the conference, mainly from industry, research and government organizations. Over 110 presentations covered policies and programs, biomass feedstocks and supply-chain aspects, bioenergy projects and case studies. Topics included: biomass heat and power; pyrolysis; gasification; algae for biofuels; carbon sequestration via biochar; anaerobic digestion of livestock wastes; energy from municipal solid waste and overarching aspects including sustainability and GHG emissions and their mitigation. A total of 100 conference delegates participated in a technical tour, which was an informative adjunct to the c onference. Facilities visited included:
Sustainable biomass supply chain for the Mallee woody crop industry
This Rural Industries R&D Corporation report provides a pre-feasibility assessment of the mallee woody crop supply chain based on a comparative assessment with the sugar supply chain. The report will assist in developing a sustainable supply chain for the mallee industry. 
The report is targeted at the stakeholders of the mallee woody crop industry. Stakeholders include seedling nurseries and contract tree planters, farmers, harvesting contractors, road transport operators, biomass processors and conversion industries, consumers of the products from conversion industries, CRC, university and public sector industry development workers and private sector industry development individuals and corporations other than farmers.
Geographic And Environmental Influence On Maya Settlement Patterns Of The Northwest Yucatan: An Explanation For The Sparsely Settled Western Cenote Zone
Most settlement pattern research and GIS analysis of the ancient Maya of the Northern Yucatan have focused on water availability in a dry landscape where cenotes are often the only water source. While water is of paramount importance, permanent settlement secondarily requires farmable soil, a resource often as precious as water in many parts of the Yucatan. The dynamics between these resources reveal areas of ideal settlement and more challenging landscapes for which the Maya developed strategies to overcome environmental conditions. A region of the southwest "Cenote Zone", however, appears to have presented the ancient Maya with insurmountably poor environmental conditions despite abundant water resources. The lack of dense population and stone architecture in this area emphasizes the lack of a simple correlation between cenotes and settlement. This thesis uses GIS analysis to identify and explore such problematic settlement areas to better understand the factors and complexities involved in the more successful settlements of neighboring regions. iv This work is dedicated to my late father, who first introduced me to the Mundo Maya through a visit to the ruins of Tikal at the age of nine, and who instilled in me strength, curiosity, and a love for exploring the world. v ACKLOWLEDGEMENTS I'd like to acknowledge Dr. Arlen Chase and Dr. Diane Chase for providing such outstanding opportunities and instruction, and for leading by example both in the field and in the classroom. Dr. John Walker for his eye-opening perspectives, GIS instruction, inspiring hard-working attitude, and patience in the field. Dr. Clifford Brown and Dr. Walter Witschey for their invaluable correspondence and for their contributions to mapping and GIS data of Maya sites.