Originally from Tacoma, WA, Gabe Desmond was a rising senior at Middlebury College pursuing a dual BA in Environmental Studies and Philosophy. He interned at Middlebury's Office of Sustainability Integration where he worked on projects including the FY20 GHG inventory, a proposal for an internal carbon price, and an analysis of fume hood energy efficiency in the college's science building. Gabe will be building on this past experience to develop a lifecycle analysis of the carbon emissions produced by the biomass gasification on campus. While World Resources Institute and EPA protocols currently treat biomass as a net zero source of energy, there is an effort to develop a protocol for more detailed biomass accounting. Gabe collaborated with Middlebury faculty, staff, the Vermont Energy Investment Corp, and the Higher Education Bioenergy Working Group to use Middlebury's biomass gasification plant as a case study to better understand the net warming potential of biomass. Outside of passion for sustainability, he leads a regular meditation practice, is an avid fan of logic puzzles, and is always looking for new vegetarian recipes.
