1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Senator Cory Booker has introduced the Forest Biomass Emissions Act of 2024 (S.4153) to address the dangerous practice of cutting down forests and burning the wood pellets to create so called “green energy.” I’d like you to support it. This is an important legislative effort to stop the practice and the greenwashing associated with it. Power plants that burn forest biomass have some of the highest climate-wrecking carbon emissions compared to most other power plants. It’s impossible for forests to regrow fast enough to take the place of the trees burned, and we can’t afford to have 44+ years of carbon pollution further harming the climate. For years, the forest biomass industry has razed American forests and sent the pellets to Europe, where biomass is tragically written into law as “clean energy.” And now the industry is trying to expand even further into the U.S. market. I encourage you to cosponsor this bill, which would: -Require the EPA to account for the full life cycle of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of electricity from forest biomass when enacting relevant rules and regulations. -Task the EPA with conducting an evaluation of the impacts on communities living in the direct proximity of facilities involved in the production of electricity from forest biomass, including forest biomass harvesting areas, pellet mills, and power facilities. -Mandate the EPA to collect data on air and noise pollution considering the race and socioeconomic status of impacted individuals, and to submit a report to Congress. This is very important to me, as is the climate crisis in general. Please prioritize it. Thanks.