The forests of the world play a critical role in each breath we take, Each cup of water we drink, our history and our future. So why is our Clean Power Plan issuing a free pass to clearcut and burn American forests?
For the past 3 years, Dogwood Alliance, NRDC, and SELC have sounded the alarm about the widespread, destructive impacts to our forests, communities and climate caused by the rapidly expanding wood pellet industry. Today’s announcement by Enviva, the largest wood pellet manufacturer in the US, is a clear indication that the collective efforts of our organizations are having a direct impact on the practices of this industry.
There is a growing need to scale up forest protection. While climate talks have resulted in increased commitments to protect forests in the tropics, the accelerated practice in recent years of burning trees from the US in place of coal to generate electricity has gone under the radar.
Recently, I provided oral testimony to the EPA on behalf of the Dogwood Alliance and the forests and the communities we serve.
On October 15, 2015, our colleagues at NRDC released a report detailing the potential destructive impact that the wood pellet industry poses to precious bottomland hardwood forests in the Southern US. The following is a blog written by report author Debbie Hammel, outlining the report and concerns along with policy recommendations.
