Online. Register here.
Help stop a climate and environmental justice disaster being market as renewable energy (on the theory that burning wood is fine because growing trees will absorb the released CO2).
A company called Golden State Natural Resources is proposing to build two massive wood pellet mills in California. They would:
* log in national forests and on private land (billing this as a “forest resiliency” measure)
* break the wood up into pellets in facilities that would pollute neighboring communities
* transport the pellets by rail or truck across the state (risking fires and explosions and emitting greenhouse gases)
* store the pellets at the port in Stockton
* then ship these wood pellets overseas to destinations in Asia, South America or Europe, to be burned in converted coal-fired power plants
— causing just as much local pollution as coal
— immediately releasing an amount of CO2 that it will take growing trees decades to absorb (time we don’t have)
The company is requesting financing for this disaster from the Golden State Financing Authority, a public entity set up to “provide affordable housing and contribute to the social and economic well-being of California residents.”
Golden State Natural Resources will host a virtual public meeting “for the public to learn about the proposed project and submit feedback on the scope of the Environmental Impact Report.” This is an opportunity for a big show of public opposition!
Please RSVP to Jason Pfeifle at jpfeifle@biologicaldiversity.org if you can make it.
The public workshop notice with more background is here.
The organizers will provide talking points and other resources before the hearing.