U.S. residents living near the pellet manufacturing plant complained about the smoke emitted by the experts. Experts say burning wood is a disaster for climate change.
In Europe, this is a wise move to achieve renewable energy goals, but to convince Lisa Sanchez, who is thousands of miles away, to think that burning wood chips is a form of clean energy, there is no So easy.
At the end of her garden there is a large German pellet factory. This plant in the Pineney Woods forest area of eastern Texas has greatly reduced the idyllic charm of her hometown. This German factory produces 578,000 tons of wood pellets per year. These wood pellets will cross the Atlantic to meet the booming local market.
In 2014, Sanchez moved to Woodville, a hundred miles northeast of Houston.
She said: 'The factory noise is not big, it is quieter than I thought. But less than a year, my respiratory tract began to have problems, and I have been sick. Now, I have asthma, I have to keep an emergency inhaler.'
She didn't dare open the doors and windows because she felt the air was full of dust.
Wood-based forest biomass has been promoted as a cleaner, more promising alternative to coal and natural gas. American companies such as Enviva have formed a booming timber export industry, almost zero from the beginning of 2000. Exported to 4.6 million tons of exports in 2015, almost all products are shipped to Europe, replacing local coal to generate electricity.
The wood pellet industry claims to use branches and waste wood, but environmental groups say there is strong evidence that in North Carolina and Florida, a large number of valuable, untapped forests have been cut to meet evolving Wood pellet industry.
Last year, British researchers discovered that burning wood was a 'disaster' to prevent climate change, because old trees emit a lot of carbon when they burn, and afforestation does not help. Even if trees are replanted, one can be cultivated. Forest areas that absorb previous carbon emissions also take up to 100 years. The fuel needed to transport wood pellets to Europe is also an important source of emissions.
As a member of the US Environmental Protection Agency's advisory board, biogeochemist William Schlesinger said: 'In theory, this looks good, but in fact it is not feasible in many cases.'
'When you cut down existing trees for incineration, carbon dioxide is immediately released into the air. No company can guarantee that they can replant trees to fully absorb the carbon dioxide. For climate change mitigation, the entire renewable forestry is a scam. '
However, Schlesinger added that if properly managed and certified, the carbon emissions of burning wood will be lower than that of coal, and as solar and wind energy continue to expand, burning wood can be used as a 'bridge fuel'.
Climate experts say: Burning wood for energy is a 'misleading'
Experts say that the use of biomass to replace fossil fuels may not prevent global warming.
Professor John Beddington, the UK's chief climate expert, believes that policies to combat climate change by burning biomass contain serious shortcomings that may affect future efforts to curb global warming. He warned that relying on felling Replacing fossil fuels with burning trees can have a very dangerous effect.
In terms of energy supply, Europe has increased its use of renewable energy over the past decade, with about half of its growth coming from biomass burning. Beddington said that, unfortunately, if this growth continues, soon Europe The burning wood needed will be insufficient, and resources must be sought from other continents. Either using cultivated land or mining natural habitats, the latter is more likely.
'It seems like a good idea to use biomass instead of fossil fuels, nationally and globally. But these policies are not well thought out and have the risk of making things worse. Even if it prevents further carbon dioxide emissions, Whether it is cultivated land or natural habitat, biomass energy will have a huge impact on land use.
In the mid-19th century, wood burning developed rapidly, and even caused almost no forest land in Western Europe. Ironically, the rise of coal burning saved this situation. Researchers said that coal is now being phased out, but it should not become big An excuse to burn trees. Instead, we should focus on promoting solar and wind energy projects and other harmless and renewable energy developments.
