[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 26 (Monday, February 11, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING THE RACHEL CARSON COUNCIL'S ``CLEAR CUT'' REPORT

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                           HON. JAMIE RASKIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 11, 2019

  Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the important work 
of the Rachel Carson Council (RCC), which is named after the visionary 
marine biologist, nature writer and environmentalist who was a proud 
resident of Silver Spring, Maryland.
  Founded and based in Bethesda, the RCC pays tribute to Rachel 
Carson's imperishable legacy by linking environmental, health, and 
social policy solutions ``with the goal of building a more just, 
sustainable, and peaceful future.''
  The RCC recently released a comprehensive report called ``Clear 
Cut,'' examining wood pellet production and its adverse effects on the 
health and sustainability of our forests and communities. The report 
details the process by which Southeastern forests are being cut down, 
chopped up, and dehydrated before being shipped and burned as carbon-
intense fuel.
  According to the report, despite being touted as a ``green'' 
alternative to fossil fuels, the sourcing of wood pellets contributes 
to widespread deforestation and pollution throughout much of the 
American Southeast. In North Carolina alone, the largest producer of 
wood pellets, Enviva, clear cuts more than 50 acres of forest each day. 
Left standing, these forests would help control the climate, maintain 
the biodiversity of our ecosystems, and filter our air and water.
  Following this environmentally invasive sourcing process of clear-
cutting, pellets are burned, producing Volatile Organic Compounds 
(VOCs), particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NO), and carbon 
monoxide (CO2), all of which pose serious health risks to 
human beings. Although the pollutants emitted by wood pellet mills are 
indiscriminately harmful to nearby inhabitants, the RCC report notes 
that wood pellet mills have been disproportionally constructed near 
poor communities of color, which are bearing the disproportionate 
burdens of deforestation, including poor air quality and increased 
flood risks.
  Although the environmental drawbacks of wood pellet production are 
clear--wood pellet mills emit approximately 65-percent more C02 per 
megawatt hour than modern coal plants--the RCC argues that the industry 
has continued to mislead the public about the sustainability of this 
practice. Moreover, the RCC's report concludes that the expansion of 
the wood pellet industry is making it harder for us to maintain our 
environmental standards and address the global crisis of climate 
change.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to review the well-researched and 
well-documented ``Clear Cut'' report by visiting the RCC website at 
www.rachelcarsoncouncil.org. We must keep the profound concerns raised 
in this report in mind as we enact environmental, forestry, and energy 
policies and work to protect the public health and safety.

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