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The Biomass Monitor monthly newsletter is the only publication in the U.S. covering the impacts to public health, climate, forests, and communities from industrial-scale "biomass" energy and offering community-scale, clean energy alternatives.

A publication of Biofuelwatch, Energy Justice Network, Florida Environmental Justice Network and Florida League of Conservation Voters.

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Managing Editors: Rachel Smolker and Mike Ewall
Editor and Journalist: Josh Schlossberg

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Biomass Monitor Blog

Biomass Industry Plays With Fire, Gets Burned [The Biomass Monitor]

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- by Josh Schlossberg, The Biomass Monitor

Toxic smokestack emissions aren’t the only public health threat from industrial scale biomass energy facilities. Fires and explosions have been responsible for multiple injuries and three deaths at biomass incinerators over the past three decades.

An Anti-Biomass Movement Beyond Borders [The Biomass Monitor]

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- by Josh Schlossberg, Energy Justice Network

[graphic: Steve Adams Illustration]

adamsillustration.comThe grassroots biomass resistance has come a long way over the years and it’s growing stronger every day. A mere five years ago few people even questioned the logic of classifying polluting biomass energy alongside smokestack-free energy sources like solar and wind. Most environmental groups hailed bioenergy as a climate savior and the only mentions of biomass in the media were how many jobs developers were promising.

Report: “Unintended Consequences” from Biomass Boom [The Biomass Monitor]

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Report: “Unintended Consequences” from Biomass Boom  

- by Josh Schlossberg, The Biomass Monitor

Add another one to the stack of studies shattering the biomass industry’s illusion of carbon neutrality. One would assume that the scientific community’s repeated debunking of the alleged climate benefits of biomass would already have knocked the polluting energy source off its “green” pedestal. However, in a world where 97% of climate scientists attribute global warming to human activity and only 57% of Americans believe them, it’s clear that science alone can’t change people’s minds.

Campaigners Challenge Environment Agency

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Campaigners Challenge Environment Agency

- by The Breathe Clean Air Group 

Trafford, UK-based Breathe Clean Air Group has challenged the Environment Agency over a serious irregularity in issuing the controversial Barton Renewable Energy Plant in Greater Manchester, with an Environmental Permit.

Biomass Energy: Dirty and Unsustainable [The Biomass Monitor]

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Biomass Energy: Dirty and Unsustainable

- by Ron Zeller

President Obama's continuing "all-out, all-in, all-of-the-above" energy strategy still supports biomass energy development despite its increasingly obvious problems, numerous abandoned facilities, and public rejection. An asserted need to reduce America's reliance on imported oil is frequently cited in arguments made for funding projects which are otherwise environmentally and economically dubious.

Cellulosic Ethanol: A Bio-Fool’s Errand? [The Biomass Monitor]

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Cellulosic Ethanol: A Bio-Fool’s Errand?

- by Josh Schlossberg, The Biomass Monitor

The good news is that the cellulosic ethanol industry—turning trees and woody plants into liquid fuels—has yet to take off. And without an endless stream of taxpayer handouts to develop this polluting and environmentally destructive energy source, it probably never will.

Under the guise of taking action on climate change, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, expanding it under the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007.

Biomass Moratorium Called for in Oregon

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- by Save Our Rural Oregon

Due to the Clean Air Act violations both Klamath Falls and Lakeview, Oregon have experienced this winter, Save Our Rural Oregon is requesting an emergency moratorium on proposed biomass and biofuels projects in both communities.

Letters have been forwarded to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, asking for their support of an emergency moratorium on biomass and biofuels projects in both Klamath Falls and Lakeview. The letter asks for a stay on the issuance of any new or modified air quality discharge permit related to biomass and biofuels projects and on awarding site certificates on those projects not yet adjudicated by the Oregon Energy Facilities Siting Council.

Burlington, Vermont Ignores Biomass Emissions

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- by Josh Schlossberg, Energy Justice Network

It’s good news that IBM is helping Burlington, Vermont lower its impact on the climate. [“IBM Wants to Help Burlington Reduce Its Carbon Footprint,” Seven Days, March 27]. Unfortunately, the city’s refusal to fix glaring errors in its Climate Action Plan prevents an honest look at Burlington’s actual contributions to runaway global climate change.

Biomass Battle Casts Spotlight on Environmental Justice [The Biomass Monitor]

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- by Josh Schlossberg, The Biomass Monitor

Sometimes what seems like defeat in the short term can actually turn out to be victory in the long run. One such case involves the opposition to the construction of Seneca Sawmill’s biomass power incinerator in Eugene, Oregon. While the facility fired up its smokestacks for the first time in 2011, the effort to educate neighborhood residents about the health threats of the industrial polluter morphed into a powerful environmental justice movement in the low-income community surrounding the facility.

Alison Guzman (center) and Lisa Arkin (left) of Beyond Toxics in Eugene, Oregon

Biomass Industry Fights Transparency [The Biomass Monitor]

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Biomass Industry Fights Transparency

- by Josh Schlossberg, The Biomass Monitor

I was pleased to see the VT Digger opinion piece by Bill Kropelin, chief forester for Burlington Electric Department’s McNeil biomass incinerator, in response to Energy Justice Network’s McNeil Biomass Forest Map—since a public discussion on the health and environmental impacts of industrial-scale “biomass” energy in Vermont is long overdue. 

Logging for McNeil biomass incinerator in Buels Gore, Vermont