Look out your window and you might see a way we will get off fossil fuels. But as our Curtis Schick shows us, you might want to wait before you chop down your neighbor's cherry tree.

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DUTCHESS COUNTY, N.Y. -- You are looking down at acres and acres of trees and many think we can find energy freedom in these forests.

"Roughly two-thirds3 of the landscape is covered with healthy forests," said Dr. Charles Canham, Cary Institute Forest Ecologist.

It is a process called forest biomass and a new study shows there is potential.

"I think we have all been hoping there is a resource out there that could lead to economic growth and new jobs in the North County and a renewable source of energy," Canham said.

The study by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies shows forest biomass could replace as much as a quarter of liquid fossil fuels used to heat businesses or a little more than 15 percent in homes. But researchers found it is less than expected.

"Most of the growth of the trees in the forest is already being harvested for traditional timber products," Canham said.

Canham says forest owners get more money for lumber and paper pulp and it leaves the logging leftovers, like tree tops, for biomass. Still, he says it will work in some places.

"There is a resource is out there and we should find ways to use it, but we need to be very careful that we do not put regulations or incentives in place that lead us to overharvesting," Canham said.

The study shows forest biomass could work in Maine and New Hampshire because the state has low energy use and less people. But Canham says overall in the Northeast, it only replaces one to two percent of our total energy usage.