Recently a couple of us here at Dogwood went out on an investigation of the wood pellet manufacturing facilities in North Carolina. All of the facilities are owned and operated by Enviva and exist for the sole purpose of producing wood pellets to feed the market in Europe, particularly the UK-based utility company Drax.
Soaring demand for woody fuel has led to the construction of more than two dozen pellet factories in the Southeast and special port. European officials promote the trade as part of the fight against climate change. But that claim is increasingly coming under challenge.
Julianna is most excited to learn about how Dogwood Alliance engages with communities across the Southeastern United States and overseas.
I checked into “The Paper Trail” transparency tool from the office paper giant Domtar that operates a number of large pulp and paper mills across the US South. The Paper Trail is designed to answer three questions: “Where does my paper come from? What are the impacts of my purchase? Who are the people behind the product?”
Recent science shows that many forms of biomass — especially from forests — produce higher carbon emissions compared to fossil fuels. In particular, a growing body of peer-reviewed, scientific studies shows that burning wood from whole trees in power plants to produce electricity can increase carbon emissions relative to fossil fuels for many decades — anywhere from 35 to 100 years.
