CNN just posted an interesting read about biomass burning. Lauded as a "green" energy, biomass is essentially the burning of wood pellets instead of coal. In theory, the pellets are made from waste product from paper and furniture production, allowing energy producers to use the wood waste to substitute the burning of fossil fuels. Sounds like a good plan at first glance. Only, there are several problems.
First, burning wood still creates emissions. It's even less efficient than burning coal, in fact. But, because some paper-pusher long ago decided that biomass emissions should be counted at the wood's source, not at it's burning location (???), European energy producers can reduce their carbon footprint on paper (and on paper only) by importing wood from America.
Second, the regulation was written in such a way as to not limit it to waste wood, but to allow the harvesting of trees for the primary purpose of creating pellets. According to the article, 164 acres of trees are cut down in North Carolina (the state that is the focus of the article) each day just to create these biomass pellets.
Third, production of the pellets themselves creates a ton of pollution. Like most unsightly things in the age of NIMBY, these production plants in North Carolina have found themselves in poor (and black) counties, creating health problems for the residents.
So, in short, American trees are being cut down, causing harm to the American environment, and to the health of American citizens, so that the wood can be shipped to Europe, where it is inefficiently burned, contributing to climate change - all because the regulations are written in such a way that the European energy producers don't have the claim the carbon as their own.
First, burning wood still creates emissions. It's even less efficient than burning coal, in fact. But, because some paper-pusher long ago decided that biomass emissions should be counted at the wood's source, not at it's burning location (???), European energy producers can reduce their carbon footprint on paper (and on paper only) by importing wood from America.
Second, the regulation was written in such a way as to not limit it to waste wood, but to allow the harvesting of trees for the primary purpose of creating pellets. According to the article, 164 acres of trees are cut down in North Carolina (the state that is the focus of the article) each day just to create these biomass pellets.
Third, production of the pellets themselves creates a ton of pollution. Like most unsightly things in the age of NIMBY, these production plants in North Carolina have found themselves in poor (and black) counties, creating health problems for the residents.
So, in short, American trees are being cut down, causing harm to the American environment, and to the health of American citizens, so that the wood can be shipped to Europe, where it is inefficiently burned, contributing to climate change - all because the regulations are written in such a way that the European energy producers don't have the claim the carbon as their own.
'We've been disrespected'
How the European Union's drive to curb carbon emissions led to pollution and community disruption in the American South
www.cnn.com