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HISTORY & VISION
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The Vermont Biogas Collaborative Working Group (BCWG) arose in Fall 2017 in response to a Catalyst Awards request for proposals from the University of Vermont’s Gund Institute for Environment. The interdisciplinary team of “founding members” envisioned the broad participation of regional experts, as well as the public, around the recognized need for real-world measurement of biogas emissions to better address sustainable development of energy and agricultural resources, as well as the protection of environmental and human health. At the heart of BCWG is team-building through hands-on technical training and education of members and the public.
Further, we espouse future development of a collective of regional working groups across the country with similar robust biogas monitoring equipment and team expertise in data analysis and interpretation. This collective will advance the understanding of biogas emissions from diverse natural and human-induced sources of biogas under a wide range of geographic and meteorological conditions.
The success of BCWG depends on the participation of its members. We encourage you to learn more about BCWG on these pages, to contact us with any questions, and attend our meetings to both learn more and contribute to the BCWG’s future activities and direction
MISSION
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BCWG members have two immediate objectives:
1. Improving quantitative understanding of the processes governing the release of biogas from natural and engineered systems.
To do so, BCWG will train interested BCWG members in the use of novel sensor technology systems for real-time, spatially-resolved biogas measurement. Longer-term development of a shared equipment and technology resource for use by BCWG members in their own application areas is central to the future of BCWG.
2. Building a robust network of practicing “educators” around biogas and broader greenhouse gas emissions issues to improve public understanding.
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BCWG members will, through their participation in BCWG activities and use of BCWG resources, help broaden their own as well as the public’s understanding of diverse, yet interrelated, biogas issues across application areas including energy, agriculture & forestry, sustainability, food systems, transportation, policy, economy and environmental health.
The BCWG effort directly addresses the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals 3, 7, 11, 12, and 13 in terms of improving air quality, advancing waste-to-energy resources in a sustainable way, improving efficient use of renewable resources, and significantly increasing knowledge of greenhouse gas sources and their effects. The BCWG will initially focus on identifying key collaborative partners and developing a knowledge and scientific capability around gas emissions and sensors for diverse applications relevant to the expertise and needs of participating BCWG collaborators.
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