Originally published in the Raleigh News & Observer. Written by Dr. Andrew George. There are some obvious ironies in logging trees, shipping them to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and burning them in European power stations under the guise of “green energy.” In fact, the most recent data show that burning whole trees is worse (per unit of energy) for the environment than burning fossil fuels like coal.
Dogwood Alliance is proud to join the World Rainforest Movement and countless groups around the globe by taking part in the International Day of Action against Plantations. Natural forests in Africa, South America, Southeast Asia, China, Indonesia, and the Southern US are under threat from the big agribusiness, the global pulp and paper industry, and increasingly wood burning utilities that look at forests as a commodity to increase corporate profit rather than for the vital role they play as home to indigenous people, wildlife habitat, protecting the world against climate change, and so much more.
Last week Dogwood Campaign Organizer Tom Llewellyn continued the Our Forest Aren’t Fuel campaign’s investigation with a trip up to Ahoskie, NC to gather more evidence at Enviva’s flagship wood pellet mill. What he found was a lack of transparency and intimidation.
Dogwood supporter Alan White’s Letter to the Editor of the Charlotte Observer on the export of NC wetland wood turned to pellets for Europe to burn for electricity.
Danna Smith’s article from “European Voice” on the troubling land degradation history in the Southern US and the dangers of biomass.
