Scientists: EPA Falsely Deems Wood Burning for Electricity ?Carbon Neutral?

[Emily]

https://www.ucsusa.org/press/2018/e...rning-electricity-carbon-neutral#.Wt_jbC8-LWY

April 24, 2018


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[h=1]EPA Falsely Deems Wood Burning for Electricity ?Carbon Neutral?[/h]


Statement by Peter Frumhoff, Director of Science and Policy, Union of Concerned Scientists


Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt made yet another anti-scientific decision based on politics yesterday when he announced that the EPA will treat burning wood as carbon neutral when biomass is used to produce energy, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The organization noted that Pruitt?s decree could jumpstart a polluting energy industry.
Below is a statement by Peter Frumhoff, director of science and policy at UCS.
?Unfortunately, you can?t mandate something to be true that isn?t. Burning forest biomass to make electricity is not inherently carbon neutral, even if Mr. Pruitt declares it so. In fact, under some conditions burning trees releases as much or more carbon dioxide per unit of electricity as coal-fired power plants.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/03/opinion/pruitt-forests-burning-energy.html

William H. Schlesinger is dean emeritus of the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke. Beverly Law is a professor of global climate change biology at Oregon State. John Sterman is a professor of management at M.I.T. William R. Moomaw is an emeritus professor of international environmental policy at Tufts.