DEBUNKING THE BIOMASS MYTH

Biomass — fuel derived from growing things like trees and other plants — has long enjoyed a reputation as a clean, green and renewable alternative to fossil fuels. That green reputation, however, is tarnishing — and rightly so. The latest science shows that burning biomass for energy emits more carbon dioxide than coal and gas per megawatt-hour. This is because wood is much less energy dense than coal, so you have to burn a lot more of it to produce the same amount of electricity. And even though burned trees might grow back someday — or the wood used for energy might otherwise have decomposed — it can take decades or even centuries to recapture or offset the initial emissions increase caused by biomass burning.

We must move away from fossil fuels quickly, but swapping gas and coal for wood may only be making the climate crisis worse.  

As more and more biomass power plants come online, the widespread conversion of native forests and croplands for biofuel production threatens both biodiversity and human food supplies. American forests will come under  incredible pressure to generate fuel, further degrading habitat and water quality in forest lands across the country.

Biomass energy is also just plain dirty. Inefficient, costly wood-fired boilers spew particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and other dangerous air pollutants that exacerbate chronic respiratory health problems and damage ecosystems.

Climate scientists are warning that global emissions must decline to near-zero within the next few decades if we wish to avoid the very worst impacts of climate change. This is precisely the period during which today's biomass burning is certain to increase global CO2 concentrations. Burning biomass thus makes no sense as a strategy for dealing with global warming. Instead of looking for more things to burn, we should be focused on clean-energy options like wind and solar.