Burning deadfalls and brush in your stove or in your car might be a better option than having that same forest waste burn down your home.
One of the issues that the national forests and park lands run into each year is what to do with the fallen trees and underbrush that contribute to forest fires that threaten surrounding communities and the forest itself. While a certain amount of that material is needed to replenish the soil in the forests, too much of it leads to devastating forest fires (although I’m sure there’s another line of debate on how devastating or for whom).
Biomass Magazine reports the U.S. Department of Interior is investing $15 million of the stimulus bill into 55 projects in 12 states to reduce those hazardous fuels on federal lands that will protect at-risk communities while supporting local efforts to produce fuel (and jobs) from the biomass gathered:
The final selection criteria ensured project planning and environmental compliance work was complete or substantially complete and that projects have the potential to provide additional economic benefits to support local or regional employment through post-treatment use of biomass in wood products or power generation.
California and its large amount of trees is getting the biggest amount of funding at $3.3 million. Not surprisingly, Montana and Arizona, states with large forests as well, picked up the next biggest amounts at $2 million and $1.3 million, respectively.
You can see the complete list of projects and awards by state at this Interior Web site.
In partnership with Virginia-based 
Some farmers in Tennessee are testing out the first switchgrass seed varieties specifically developed for biofuels production.
South Florida motorists who drive flex fuel vehicles now have at least 12 stations where they can fill up with E85 fuel. The 
A six-foot tall box behind a restaurant in Massachusetts is a solution to two problems: what to do with leftover cooking oil and how to power the fryers that produce all that grease in the first place.
Last December, after a year of 80-hour weeks on the development, Peret, 33, installed the first Vegawatt at Finz, a joint that offers loads of fried seafood. With patents still pending, he’s reluctant to give specifics on its inner workings, but it begins with staff members pouring in 10 to 12 gallons of used deep-fryer oil each day. Before going into the Vegawatt’s generator, the bread-crumb-filled muck is deposited into a reservoir and undergoes a multi-stage cleaning, treatment and filtration process. At this stage, the oil is prepared for combustion with a method Peret devised that draws heat from the exhaust system. After that, the processed grease moves into a tank that feeds the modified 15-horsepower diesel generator. Heat from the Vegawatt’s engine coolant is used to warm the water in the building’s pipes, further reducing the restaurant’s energy needs.
Instead of bringing an apple for teacher, students in Montgomery, Alabama schools will be encouraged to bring in used cooking oil that the city’s public schools will turn into biodiesel to run their school buses.
New York City is going to get a little cleaner thanks to a clean-running garbage truck.
Gov. Chris Gregoire said her staff has meetings scheduled with department heads in June to talk about how to incorporate more biofuel usage. “I don’t want to lose the momentum that we’ve built up,” said Gregoire in The Herald of Everett. “We’re going to get there but it’s going to take more time than what was originally projected.”
RFA Director of Market Development Robert White says this is a milestone in E85 history. “Being in the Miami metro area promoting E85 shows that this is not a Midwest niche fuel any longer,” White said. “This is a product that can be distributed and sold anywhere in the country and we are able to take E85 where the people and the flex-fuel vehicles are.”