Dear NRDC Activist,

The wood pellet biomass industry has been an unending nightmare for residents in the Southeastern United States.

Imagine waking up to a layer of wood dust covering your house, yard, car — everything in sight. It’s not just an ugly view; wood pellet biomass production brings health problems, including asthma, heart disease, and lung damage — most often to low-income and communities of color that are already overburdened by environmental harms and pollution.

That same nightmare could now be headed for communities in California — and we need your help to stop it. Make your voice heard!

Biomass involves cutting down carbon-capturing forests, processing them into wood pellets, and shipping them overseas to be burned as fuel. Not only does this increase climate-warming emissions, it sacrifices nearby communities and wildlife habitat to do it.

Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR) aims to build two industrial-scale wood pellet production facilities in California, one in the north and another in the Central Sierra Nevada Mountain range.

The company also wants to construct a storage and export terminal in the city of Stockton, which has some of the highest pollution burdens in the state. Residents here are already disproportionately impacted by previous environmental hazards — the last thing they need is more pollution or potential fires and explosions that can accompany wood pellet storage and export terminals.

The proposed biomass facilities also threaten the habitat of gray wolves, Sierra Nevada red foxes, great gray owls, and other wildlife already at risk. Their forest habitat would be cut and relied on heavily by the biomass energy industry, even though the industry claims to only use “waste” wood.

Here’s the kicker: The company is attempting to promote these destructive operations as a climate solution.

Fortunately, California officials are inviting public comments on this disastrous proposal.

NOW is our best chance to stop dangerous wood pellet biomass and defend our health and environment.

We must remain committed to real clean energy solutions like wind and solar power and effective climate resilience — solutions that clean up our air, protect wildlife, and improve residents’ health, not bring more climate-busting pollution.

Help us mobilize massive nationwide opposition to this climate-destroying plan — please submit your public comment today.

Sincerely,

Rita Vaughan Frost
Forest Advocate, Nature, NRDC