Should we turn California trees into wood pellets to be burned in foreign power plants? That’s the proposal being brought forward by Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR), a nonprofit organization formed by Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) and Golden State Finance Authority. GSNR has just released their draft environmental impact report for the project, which proposed two wood pellet factories (one in Lassen County and another in Tuolumne) that will draw biomass from roughly a 100 mile radius around the plant. Those factories will turn woody biomass into pellets, which will be shipped by rail to Stockton where the pellets will be loaded onto ocean-going ships to be delivered, likely to foreign power plants where they will be burned for energy.
What’s Humboldt’s connection? Humboldt County’s own Supervisor Rex Bohn sits on the Board of Directors for GSNR, and biomass from Humboldt may end up be turned into wood pellets.
This proposal has drawn concern from environmental groups worried about the greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and impacts to forest health from the project. Nick Joslin of the Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center and Rita Vaughn Frost of the Natural Resources Defense Council join the show to discuss their concerns with the project.
Listen to this episode here from the Lost Coast Outpost (where you can also read a transcript), Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Buzzsprout.
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The EcoNews Report is a weekly, half-hour environmental news/chat program broadcasted on KHUM Community Radio (104.3-104.7 FM) every Saturday at 10am PST. Hear from host and EPIC Executive Director Tom Wheeler, and esteemed guests. Browse past shows from EPIC's archives, listen or read transcripts on the Lost Coast Outpost, or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Buzzsprout.
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