Where is biomass management today?

Forest waste including beetle-killed trees and drought kills
Some of the forests in California are experiencing a natural phenomenon: Pine beetles. These beetles are attacking and killing millions of trees. These things run in cycles and in this case the extended severe drought in the state has stressed the trees making it more difficult for them to fend off insects.
Increases in Wildland-Urban Interface defensible spaces
A defensible space is an area around a building in which vegetation, debris, and combustible fuels have been cleared to slow the spread of fire to and from the building.
Tons of almond and walnut shells
Nut crops are one of California’s most valuable crops. The farming and processing of almonds and walnuts creates many thousands of tons of biomass every year. Besides a few commercial uses such as abrasives, filtering, road cover and specialty coatings, the majority of the biomass is simply stored or rots in holding areas.
Tons of agricultural residue
Many crops produce waste that does not have a ready market as a meaningful feedstock. This waste is routinely burned in the field, causing pollution, or plowed into the ground. Sadly this is not an effective way to perform carbon sequestration.

Controlled burns of agriculture field waste is tightly controlled
Agricultural burning helps farmers remove crop residues left in the field after harvesting grains, such as hay and rice. Farmers also use burning for removal of orchard and vineyard prunings. Burning waste however creates life threatening air pollution.
Trees killed by bark beetles and drought limited commercial use
Beetle-killed trees leave the state at risk of massive forest fires that pollute the air and water supply. Dead trees are falling in greater numbers on roads, tents and power lines, limiting recreational opportunities.
Piles of nut shells are left to rot releasing greenhouse gases
This is not an effective way to perform carbon sequestration.
Biomass fueled co-generation plants cannot compete with cheaper energy sources

Lack of U.S. Department of Agriculture programs
After the Biomass Crop Assistance Program ended, very little of the hundreds of millions of dollars from USDA programs are earmarked for biomass reduction. Available funding is generally routed to organizations that already have funding and can match the USDA grants.
The California State Legislature
The Legislature has discussed the agriculture and municipal waste for over years and has not funded any efforts to handle it in a practical manner.

Greenfield initiatives require more capital than angel funding can provide
What’s in it for the investors? The rate of return on investment is low and risk is high. Carbon offset credits are not viable; the price per ton of offsets is far below the estimated costs of damage that a ton of carbon pollution will cause via global warming and ocean acidification.
Biomass reduction is not a profit making venture
The front-end logistics of collecting, processing and delivering biomass to processing facilities is complicated and expensive. Insurance is expensive because the work is categorized as forestry. The quality of the biochar product varies greatly. High quality activated biochar is valuable but expensive to manufacture. Low quality biochar can be used in water filtration, storm water runoff control, and as soil amendment for specialty farming.

Where are we going?