What’s Up with the Biomass Industry and Forest Health?

Biomass, or bioenergy, creates energy by burning living materials like plants and trees. The wood pellet industry uses trees to make wood pellets. It then ships them to Europe and Asia where they’re burned in power plants to create electricity. Wood pellet plants are as dirty and problematic as coal plants. Burning trees (via burning […]

Ghost Forests: A Tangible Sign of the Climate Crisis

What is a Ghost Forest? The climate crisis is killing coastal forests at an alarming rate and leaving watery graves behind. We’re in a race against time. As the climate warms, sea levels are rising. Storms, droughts, flooding, and fires are growing in frequency and intensity. One of the clearest indicators that we’re in trouble […]

New York Declaration on Forests: Where Does Burning Forests for Electricity Fit in? It Doesn’t.

It’s encouraging to see forests emerge as a major point of focus with the release of the New York Declaration on Forests. Since launching the Our Forests Aren’t Fuel campaign last year, I have been scratching my head in disbelief about the contradiction that exists when it comes to global forest climate policies. Over recent years, there has been a suite of initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions from forest loss and degradation, which admittedly accounts for 20% of global carbon emissions. As part of the New York Declaration of Forests, three European nations – UK, Norway and Germany – announced increased global funding for reducing deforestation and increasing forest conservation.