Letter to the Governor of South Carolina

Dear South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, COVID-19 has now killed more than 200,000 people in the US, and over a quarter of those deaths are Black Americans, in part due to racism, social inequity, and environmental injustices that have purposefully robbed the Black community of health and well-being. As you know, Enviva, a biomass wood […]

Germany must not subsidize a switch from coal to forest biomass

International groups warn that new German subsidies for coal-to biomass conversions could cause damage to forests around the world 25 environmental NGOs from the USA and Estonia sent a letter to members of the Bundesrat ahead of last week’s debate about a reform to the Renewable Energy Law (EEG) which, the groups fear, could result […]

Industrial Logging and the Wood Pellet Industry Hurt Us All

For most of us, especially folks living in the South, we see industrial air and water pollution expanding. We feel the negative health, environmental sustainability, and economic impacts across the region and beyond. Unfortunately, most policy makers haven’t gotten the memo. Why else would we continue to see the expansion of polluting, extractive industries like […]

New Media Series Highlights How Wood Pellet Industry Increases Environmental Racism

As most of you know at this point, our forests are being destroyed to make wood pellets that are shipped to Europe where they are burned for electricity. The Europeans currently count biomass electricity as both renewable and carbon neutral. Unfortunately, burning forests for fuel not only destroys our forests, the best defense against climate […]

We Can’t Breathe: Stop Enviva and Other Polluters

Written by Danna Smith and Reverend Leo Woodberry Enviva, the world’s largest manufacturer of wood pellets for export to Europe has applied for a permit to expand pollution at its facility in Greenwood, South Carolina. Wood Pellet production facilities release dangerous air pollutants that cause chronic respiratory and other health problems associated with higher COVID-19 […]