HARRISBURG — A year ago, a state official laid out a vision of farming “biomass plantations” on abandoned coal lands as a way to wean Pennsylvania off oil dependence.

The state should encourage the planting of switch grass, a native grass that produces high yields, and poplar and willow trees on its thousands of acres of mine land, testified Daniel Desmond, a Department of Environmental Protection deputy secretary, at a Senate hearing. Switch grass is tolerant of poor soils and is resistant to pests, plant disease and drought. Switch grass could be harvested to produce ethanol and the trees pulped to make wood chips, he added.

The idea of biomass plantations springing up on the very land that once provided fuel for the Industrial Revolution has a certain appeal to it, but is it realistic proposition?

Lawmakers seem to think that providing incentives to encourage “bioenergy” crops is a good thing, at least so far as farmland is concerned.

The Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee approved legislation last week to give farmers a per-acre subsidy to grow switch grass, trees that can be harvested and other fiber plants to produce cellulosic ethanol.

Cellulosic ethanol is viewed by many policymakers as preferable to starch ethanol produced from corn and soybeans. The increasing diversion of corn and soybeans for ethanol production is blamed in part for a worldwide increase in food prices.

The measure by Sen. Mike Waugh, R-York, would spread the “Farms to Fuel” subsidy over three years with the higher supports paid at the outset. The bill offers a $150 per-acre subsidy the first year, $100 per acre for the second year and $50 per acre for the third year. The subsidy would be capped at $100,000.

“Development of bioenergy crops takes between 2-3 years,” Waugh said, “which can present a difficult decision for farmers that are considering replacing cash crops such as corn or soybeans with bioenergy crops.”

Man for all posts

As a young man, Clifford Jones helped develop the Can Do industrial park at Hazleton, the “Crossroads of the East” as the intersection of Interstate 80 and Interstate 81 was once touted. Years later, Jones studied a map of Interstate 80 and pointed out to a reporter what had taken place with regards to economic development at every interchange along its 311-mile stretch.

Jones did more than just promote economic development. At his death at age 80 last week, he was recalled as a quintessential Pennsylvanian who achieved a record unequalled in modern times for the number of major non-elective positions he held and the six governors he provided counsel to. Starting with the William W. Scranton administration, Jones served as deputy secretary of commerce for four years. He served under Gov. Raymond Shafer as secretary of commerce and secretary of labor and industry. During the 1970s, he was the state Republican party chairman for four years and then president of Pennsylvanians for Effective Government, a business-oriented PAC.

The 1980s saw Jones’ appointment by Gov. Dick Thornburgh as secretary for the Department of Environmental Resources and chairman of the Public Utility Commission.

He later became president of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry for a decade and helped lead Pennsylvania’s campaign to save military bases like Tobyhanna Depot from being closed.

It’s quite a resume, but Jones is remembered for a lot more just the titles by his name — the tributes note the contributions he made to improving the lives of Pennsylvanians over a span of our decades.

©The Citizens Voice 2008