Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, my amendment would correct the assertion in this bill that all forest biomass is carbon neutral. The assertion is simply scientifically inaccurate. In 2012, EPA's Scientific Advisory Board directly challenged the claim that all forest biomass is carbon neutral, explaining that while some types of carbon biomass may indeed be, it is inappropriate to assume that all types of forest biomass are carbon neutral. This misperception could have serious consequences for wildlife habitat and for our ability to combat climate change in the coming years. In fact, numerous studies have underscored that using some types of forest biomass, particularly slow-growing trees, can actually increase atmospheric carbon for many decades. The New York Times this Tuesday mentioned a study commissioned by the State of Massachusetts that indicated that the climate impacts of burning wood were worse than those for coal for 45 years and worse than that for natural gas for 90 years. To know what types of biomass are truly low-carbon, scientists need to actually assess them, and treating all forest biomass as carbon neutral is risky. The Energy Information Administration has found that this will lead to a boom in the use of forest and other biomass for energy. While this sounds like a good idea on the surface, the resulting logging would have dire consequences for climate mitigation and wildlife habitat.…”