With logging unmatched anywhere on Earth, is it possible to turn the tide of forest destruction in the South? Can we realize a dream where living forests are valued more than forests that are destroyed?
We must build a lasting legacy for our children. Together we will push back the industries that threaten our forests, and over the coming decades, we will secure the protection of millions of acres across the South, protection that values the clean air and water, climate stabilization, flood control and wildlife that standing, living forests provide.
We have to act now to secure the future of our forests.
This year Dogwood celebrates 20 years of hard-fought victories on behalf of Southern forests thanks to donors like you. We can’t grow this movement or achieve this vision without you. To work with people all over the South and make forests a top priority for our future, we need your help.
Together we can build a better future for forests in the South.
Last week, hundreds of people came together in Savannah, GA, to celebrate Earth Day. But in Savannah, and across the South, protecting our planet and the people and wildlife that call it home is more than a one day event. It is a lifestyle.
Washington, DC – The US Senate is poised to vote today on the controversial Energy Policy and Modernization Act (S. 2012) which has environmentalists and local community organizations up in arms because of a sweetheart deal for the bioenergy industry. Today, over 75 organizations sent a letter to Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) voicing their opposition to the legislation because of its dangerous biomass provisions.
“The message from conservationists and communities across the country is clear, burning wood for electricity is bad for our climate and quality of life,” said Adam Macon from Dogwood Alliance. “The US Senate should stick to the business of protecting the people and environment, not create sweetheart deals for their favorite industries at the expense of the rest of us.”
An amendment from Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) (S. Amnd. 3140) that was earlier accepted by voice vote instructs the Secretaries of Energy and Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop policies that “reflect the carbon neutrality” of forest-derived biomass. This contradicts the general scientific consensus that per megawatt hour, burning wood for electricity generates more carbon emissions than coal.
“This bill sets a dangerous precedent by legislating science and overriding physical facts,” said Friends of the Earth Climate and Energy Program Director Benjamin Schreiber. “Congress is interfering with the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency to protect public health.”
An amendment from Senator Manchin (D- W.Va.)(S. Amnd. 3270) that is slated for a vote would promote co-firing coal with biomass by deeming it to have “net-negative carbon emissions” when paired with carbon capture and sequestration, despite the reality that biomass co-firing would significantly increase carbon emissions from coal plants. In addition to the increased emissions associated with burning wood, deeming co-fired plans “net-negative” would extend the life-spans of coal-burning power plants and delay the transition to clean clean renewable energy.
Earlier this year sixty top climate scientists sent a letter urging the Senate to remove the bad biofuels language. “These amendments are an attempt to subvert science and allow some of the most destructive industries to continue with business as usual,” said Adam Macon from Dogwood Alliance. “The US Senate needs to listen to leading scientists who show that biomass is not carbon neutral and is taking us backwards rather than toward a truly clean and green renewable energy future.”
“We cannot have U.S. Energy Legislation that endorses, subsidizes or supports dirty and inefficient sources of power like biomass,” Center for Biological Diversity Senior Counsel Bill Snape. “The current Senate bill is riddled with harmful provisions and special interest favors, and its treatment of forest biomass energy sources will denude American forests and vastly increase deadly greenhouse air pollution.”
The vote on both the Manchin Amendment and on final passage are expected to happen today.
To see the letter with the full list of signatories, go here.
“No biomass, no way! Not ever, not today!” Morgan Rowden’s voice sung out, managing to be louder than even our crowd of over 100 marchers. She stood with a mix of students of all ages, health advocates, faith leaders, social justice activists, other members of frontline communities affected by dirty biomass and even eco-conscious fairy performers standing 6-feet above our sea of people. We were an ocean of activists holding orange signs that read:
Southerners chanted: “Our Forests Aren’t Fuel!”
Our group in downtown Charlotte on April 11 marched, united around our central message: Our Forests Aren’t Fuel. In the last 60 years, the US South has lost 33 million acres of natural forests, and the threat of using biomass for energy is making this much worse.
We came from all across the region to peacefully gather in Romare-Bearden park to physically and symbolically stand tall to protect Southern forests, public health and Southern communities. The world’s largest biomass conference, The International Biomass Conference and Expo, was gathered just down the street, scheming new ways to turn our precious wetland forests into pellets and ship them across the ocean to be burned for fuel in Europe.
Kaela, a 7th grader in NC, shouted about the biomass industry:
“This needs to stop! My generation wants forest protection because that means clean air, water and a safer future. I’m here today with my classmates because we know that when we show up at rallies, we can call attention to what’s right, not just what makes money.”
“Biomass is neither green nor peaceful,” Monica Embrey of Greenpeace rallied us.
Banging and clanking from hammers on metal, cranes and workers milling about turned our heads skyward. Danna Smith, Dogwood Alliance Executive Director turned to me and commented,
“It’s amazing that humans can figure out how to build these cities of steel and yet we still don’t know how to adequately manage forests in an environmentally, economically, and socially-sound manner. We must step into the twenty-first century of forest management.”
BJ McManama, organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network, beautifully stated the purpose of the rally:
“Because we, the keepers of the forests and fields – four-legged, winged, finned and two-legged are seeing great disregard for the Rights of Our Mother Earth and her children. It is OUR responsibility to know that what we do today has consequences that will affect the next seven generations that follow.”
As our crowd continuously grew and swelled throughout the night, it was a beautiful symbol of how the movement across the entire US South is growing and swelling right at this moment. Weeks ago, a rural community in South Carolina stopped a pellet mill. Science is consistently on our side: less than two weeks ago, an EPA group of scientific experts rejected a report that would essentially count biomass as carbon neutral.
The pressure on the biomass industry to stop clearcutting forests is increasing
In fact, a group of investors with over $53 billion in assets under management recently requested that the SEC examine claims of climate benefits in the biomass energy sector and enforce rules requiring companies to disclose material information, including climate change-related risks, to investors. Citizens all over the South, in places like Baton Rouge and Savannah, are pushing back and calling for local moratorium on biomass facilities. The EU government has agreed to review its biomass policies.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult for wood pellet manufacturers and the biomass industry to come into communities because Southerners know that this industry doesn’t serve our interests.
It’s simple enough for even kids to understand. As our Campaign Director, Adam Macon, spoke about the dangers of biomass, a young boy of five invigorated everyone by yelling, “Unacceptable!”
Time for state governments, the EPA, the EU climate commission and multinational corporations companies to realize what kids who are not even 10-years-old know to be certain: the clearcutting and export of millions of tons of our precious Southern forests to generate electricity is “unacceptable.”
The dogwood trees are in bloom at this time of year in North Carolina. I find it hopeful that as the dogwoods bloom, our activists turned out in full force to demonstrate against a forest-destroying industry. We are fighting to keep the dogwoods in as many forests as possible; to keep as many communities safe from the ravaging impacts a biomass facility can have on a town; to keep our global community safe from the worst impacts of climate change.
“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” – Aboriginal activist, Lilla Watson
For Immediate Release – April 11, 2016Contact: Scot Quaranda, scot@
Charlotte, NC – In the last five years, the South has seen explosive growth in wood pellet manufacturing—pellets which are being shipped across the Atlantic for use as a replacement fuel in Europe’s coal fired power plants. But while these exports are generating significant profits for European corporations, questions are being asked about both the environmental and economic consequences of this rapid expansion.
From April 11th to the 14th, The International Biomass Conference & Expo will draw 1,500 attendees from across industry and government to Charlotte. The subject of wood pellet manufacturing and forest-to-biomass energy is likely to be a hot topic.
The movement of opposition against the biomass industry is rapidly growing. Outside the conference a group of activists including Asheville-based forest protection group Dogwood Alliance and impacted community members, public health groups, faith leaders, environmental justice organizations, and local environmental non-profits gathered to present a different message. According to Danna Smith, Executive Director of Dogwood Alliance, the industry’s green claims do not hold up to scrutiny:
“By their own admission, large wood pellet companies like Enviva aren’t just using waste wood to make their pellets. They are sourcing whole trees from endangered Southern forests – forests that are home to countless wildlife species found nowhere else on Earth, and Cypress trees that are hundreds of years old.”
In addition to biodiversity concerns, activists are also highlighting the climate impact of burning wood for energy. While the industry itself has touted its product as “carbon neutral”, research has shown burning wood to release more carbon than coal—leading many to worry that this industry will disappear as the world’s leaders start taking climate change more seriously. In fact, a group of investors with over $53 billion in assets under management recently requested that the SEC examine claims of climate benefits in the biomass energy sector, and enforce rules requiring companies to disclose material information, including climate-change related risks, to investors.
Social justice activists are also concerned about the wood pellet industry’s impact on communities in the South. Recently, a community in Fairfield County, SC was able to stop a new wood pellet mill from being built. Morgan Rowden, a community member from nearby Laurens County, South Carolina that is also facing the potential of a new wood pellet mills said:
“Rural communities—often communities of color—across The South are facing increased traffic, noise, wood dust and other hazards from the explosive growth of this industry. The sad part is it’s not even creating jobs. Because these companies are heavily subsidized by Europe, it’s pushing up wood prices and threatening the paper and wood-product industries that have been a part of our communities for generations.”
This Monday, activists held a rally and festival in Romare-Bearden Park that provided a counterpoint to the industry voices at the convention center. According to Danna Smith, the message is simple:
“This industry is bad for our forests. It’s bad for our climate. It’s bad for our communities. And it’s bad for our economy too. With subsidies likely to be phased out in 2023, there’s not even any guarantee that it will be around for much longer. We’re calling on Southerners to send a clear message: Tell Europe to Stop Burning Our Forests.”
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Based in Asheville, NC, Dogwood Alliance (www.dogwoodalliance.
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