I. INTRODUCTION

It is well known that developed or industrialized nations consume more energy per capita than developing or Third World countries, and that there is a correlation between a country’s living standards and energy consumption. In general, the higher the per-capita energy consumption, the higher the living standard. However, the rapid worldwide increase in the consumption of fossil fuels in the twentieth century to meet energy demand, mostly by industrialized nations, suggests that the time is not too distant before depletion begins to adversely affect petroleum and natural gas reserves. This is expected to result in increased usage of alternative biomass energy resources.

The potentially damaging environmental effect of continued fossil fuel usage is another factor that will affect biomass energy usage. It has not been estab­lished with certainty that on a global basis, there is a specific relationship between fossil fuel consumption and environmental quality. There is also considerable disagreement as to whether increased fossil fuel consumption is the primary cause of global climate change. But niost energy and environmental specialists agree that there is a strong relationship between localized and

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regional air quality in terms of pollutant concentrations and fossil fuel con­sumption. The greater the consumption of fossil fuels, especially by motor vehicles and power plants, the greater the levels of air pollution in a given region.

These issues are briefly examined in this chapter to provide a starting point and a foundation for development of the primary subject of this book—energy and fuels from virgin and waste biomass. Special emphasis is given to the United States because it utilizes about one quarter of the energy consumed in the world.