Dear Green American, The urgency of the climate crisis means taking real and meaningful steps to protect local communities and the world. But California is considering a false solution: wood pellet biomass, which involves cutting down forests, burning the trees to make electricity, and then claiming forest destruction is a renewable energy source. The truth is power plants that burn biomass emit 50 percent more climate-wrecking carbon pollution than those burning dirty coal. Now Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR), the entity pushing 2 huge biomass projects in California, has recently released an environmental assessment report, and they have opened a 60-day comment period on the project. But we already know the pollution and forest destruction that comes with the industry. TAKE ACTION NOW: Tell California Governor Newsom to reject dirty biomass. GNSR would partner with Drax, a biomass company that was recently found to have violated Canadian environmental law 189 times and has generated extensive opposition in the US Southeast for the pollution generated by its plants. If Drax comes to California, local communities should expect similar harms. A huge percentage of the people who live near active biomass sites, wood pellet plants, and wood-burning power plants are from communities of color or low-income communities. Many people near these sites suffer from respiratory illnesses, must wear masks or leave their windows closed to keep dust out, and struggle to sleep at night due to the industrial noise. We must urge the state of California, normally a leader on issues related to climate change, to see forest biomass for what it really is: a threat to our climate, wildlife, forests, air quality, and the communities where polluters set up shop. We must tell Governor Newsome and GSNR to find real solutions. |
