"A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people."--Franklin D. Roosevelt
Two pellet mills under construction in Pine Bluff and Monticello will start operations this year. This has been in the news, but the social cost has not been discussed.
To ship 1.25 million tons per year of pellets, over 5 million tons per year of trees will be cut down, plus additional wood to generate power and steam for the mills. Additionally, 700,000 tons per year of fluff from the first Chinese Sun Paper mill in Arkansas will require 3 million tons per year of trees. These three mills combined will clear over 800,000 acres of forests per year. One way to understand the magnitude of this deforestation is to think of 400 40-ton logging trucks on rural roads, every day, making deliveries from the harvest sites to the mills.
Arkansas tourism revenue is around $6 billion per year, with about 100,000 hospitality jobs. What is the social, economic, and environmental cost to the quality of life for Arkansans? What are the alternatives to massive deforestation? The short answer is to say no.
Let's start at the beginning. The United Kingdom wants to keep coal-fired power plants to power the grid for as long as it can. The 4,000-megawatt, 35-year-old Drax coal-fired power station has an insatiable appetite for wood pellets.
Forests capture and store large quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and are said to be carbon-negative. They hold large amounts of rain in the soil and creeks of the forest feeding downstream rivers. Forests produce large quantities of oxygen; a single tree keeps two people alive. The rich forest soil is a complex ecosystem working in concert with forest trees. Carbon-rich soil stores large amounts of water and mitigates flooding. Tree roots keep the soil from eroding and protect creeks from sedimentation. No trees, no soil, no water.
Coal power plants release large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a fast rate and are said to be carbon-positive. Coal power plants use large amounts of water to make steam and drive electric generators. Burning wood pellets is even worse.
From an environmental perspective, forests are the opposite of coal power plants. Trees capture carbon dioxide while they grow in the forest and release carbon dioxide when burned in thermal power plants. However, it takes decades to grow trees, days to cut them down, and hours to burn them. Unfortunately, a loophole in the European Union environmental policy rates burning wood pellets as carbon-neutral, clean energy.
Truth be told, burning coal is much better than burning pellets. Coal, mostly carbon, has an energy density much higher than trees. Coal power plants would have to burn over three times more pellets to generate the same amount of electricity.
The tree trunk's primary purpose is to provide a resilient structure for the branches and pump water from the forest soil to the leaves. Tree roots keep the tree standing, and nurture the forest soil. Trees are wonders of nature, growing from a seed in the rich soil, nurtured by sunlight and water. Today, old-growth forests are mostly extinct. Burning pellets release deadly wood smoke and higher amounts of carbon dioxide than burning coal.
Drax claims wood scraps, leftovers, and other wood remnants are used to make wood pellets. This is false. Pellet mills use large quantities of trees as feedstock. The Monticello Zilkha mill makes it clear on its website, claiming pellets are "clean" heat made with solar energy stored in the forests. The Dogwood Alliance has aerial pictures of deforestation and logging trucks entering pellet mills. Stumps don't lie.
Burning wood at pellet mills to generate power and heat is an additional deadly hazard to public health. Wood smoke releases particulate matter. The threat comes from the toxic chemicals and the microscopic size of particulate matter invading the lungs, brain and other organs. The human body has no protection against it.
Drax is targeting minorities and low-income communities in the Southeast U.S. North Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, and other states are on the list. Great harm has been done.
Forest owners need to be compensated for their oxygen factories and their efforts to protect the forests, planting additional trees and improving the resilience of the forests to extreme weather.
Additional high-paying solar jobs may be created by promoting solar power generation. The California solar industry, for example, has over 75,000 solar workers, according to a 2015 report from the Solar Foundation.
Pellet mills are highly automated. Only 35 direct jobs would be created for the Pine Bluff pellet mill. Road congestion, loss of scenic forests, and air and water pollution will keep tourists away. How much of the $6 billion in revenue per year in Arkansas tourism would be lost?
Protecting the quality of life of Arkansans is non-negotiable. Pellet mills and fluff mills are permanent sources of pollution and a threat to everyone, especially at a time when raping the land is selling our children's future.
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Dr. Luis Contreras lives in Eureka Springs.
Editorial on 02/19/2016