Page 30 - Adelante Magazine March 2025

®
Earth TALK
From the Editors of E - The Environmental Magazine

Just because wood pellets are made from wood doesn’t
mean they are necessarily carbon neutral. Credit: By Tom
Bruton, Public Domain.

Dear EarthTalk: Inch-long, compressed pieces made from pine suffer from constant exposure to thick smoke and
WHAT’S SO BAD ABOUT WOOD and hardwood trees are plentiful in the South- toxic pollutants. “Fourteen million people in the
PELLET BIOMASS ENERGY? ISN’T eastern region of the United States, which is United States live within a few miles of bioenergy
WOOD A RENEWABLE RESOURCE? home to many wood pellet manufacturing com- facilities and breathe potentially harmful toxins
M. Wilson, Houston, TX panies. According to the Dogwood Alliance, 75 and pollutants,” says Edi Huno of the National
percent of wood pellets produced in the U.S. are Wildlife Federation. And often, those living right
sent to be burned in the U.K. outside these manufacturing centers are com-
munities of color with the majority of residents liv-
Biomass took off in 2009, after the European ing below the poverty line.
Union (EU) created its Renewable Energy Direc-
tive, which deemed wood pellets a renewable The wood pellet biomass industry continues to
energy source and, as such, an important energy grow. That said, many environmental organiza-
source. Seth Ginther, executive director of the tions, such as Dogwood Alliance, offer virtual pe-
United States Industrial Pellet Association, be- titions to sign on their respective websites. These
lieves that wood pellet biomass is a “low-cost, petitions will be sent to state senators. By signing
low-carbon alternative,” and “helps encourage your name, you can help save southern forests
forest owners to reforest and replant.” and communities and keep unsafe levels of car-
bon emissions out of the atmosphere.
That said, many eco-advocates question just
how sustainable producing and burning wood CONTACTS: Groundbreaking report reveals
pellets really is. A recent report by Chatham harmful impacts of biomass wood pellet plants,
House, a London-based think tank, estimates https://www.southernenvironment.org/press-re-
that 17.6 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) lease/groundbreaking-report-reveals-harmful-im-
were released from burning wood pellets in the pacts-of-biomass-wood-pellet-plants.
U.K in 2019. Also, gathering the wood requires
clear cutting of forests, which releases CO2 that EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer &
had been sequestered in the trees and soil. In Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 nonprofit EarthTalk.
the U.S., clear cutting and the making wood pel- See more at https://emagazine.com. To donate,
lets produced upwards of 88 million tons of CO2. visit https://earthtalk.org. Send questions to:
question@earthtalk.org.
Besides the ecological impact, communities liv-
ing near wood pellet manufacturing centers
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