Newsroom
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Axe Drax!
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Dr. John Taggart has a Ph.D. in biology from UNC Chapel Hill and a MS in Botany from NC State. He has been a professor at UNC Wilmington in the Department of Environmental Studies since 2006. From 1978 to 2006, John worked at the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources in various divisions such as Parks and Recreation and Coastal Management. As Natural Resources Specialist for coastal state parks, John was responsible for stewardship issues including ecological restoration, prescribed burning, invasive species control, special habitat management, and inventories of prospective park areas. At Coastal Management, he was Coordinator of the North Carolina Coastal Reserve, a state government program that acquired and managed coastal natural areas for research, education, and compatible recreational uses.
Mike Giles began his work with the Coastal Federation in May 2006. Prior to joining NCCF, he served as an Environmental Planner and Open Space Land Manager for Durham County for five years. Mike has extensive stewardship, enforcement and advocacy experience, gathered from positions with the National Park Service, the US Army Corps of Engineers, Chief Park Ranger for Mecklenburg County Parks and natural resource agencies in NC and Georgia. He studied Wildlife Management at NC State which included additional research and course work in coastal ecology. Mike monitors the southern coastal region from the SE Region field office in Wrightsville Beach.
Rick Savage has Masters degrees in Natural Resource Management from NC State University and Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech. He worked for IBM for several years before doing a career change and went to work for the NC Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources in 2004, in the Division of Water Quality. There he did wetlands monitoring research funded by the US EPA through Wetland Program Development grants. The work in NC was nationally recognized and he was send by the EPA to several national meetings to present the wetlands work in NC. After retirement from the state job, he founded the Carolina Wetlands Association, where he is president. The organization is a science based organization promoting wetlands through education, outreach, and advocacy. He is also currently editing a book on wetland rapid assessment methods with John Dorney, Ralph Tiner, and Paul Adamus.
Bio:
Debra David is the Treasurer of The Concerned Citizens of Richmond County. Born and raised in Richmond County, Debra is a proud mother, community organizer, and is known locally for her cooking skills.
Abstract:
Debra David of The Concerned Citizens of Richmond County will comment on her experience organizing against an Enviva wood pellet facility in Richmond County, North Carolina.
Enviva Wood Pellets LLC, the world’s largest producer of wood pellets, is planning to build it’s 4th plant in North Carolina just a mile north of Debra David’s home in Dobbins Heights, Richmond County, NC. The proposed wood pellet facility would produce 537,625 tons of wood pellets per year. The facility would emit significant quantities of volatile organic compounds, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides. In order to feed this mill, surrounding forests would be logged at a rate of 50 acres per day.
Under the McCrory Administration, the NC Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality permit to Enviva without any notice or opportunity for the local community to comment, resulting in a lawsuit challenging the permit. The Southern Environmental Law Center is representing the Concerned Citizens of Richmond County in litigation against NC DEQ.
The Enviva facility will be an additional burden to a community already taxed with extractive industry, pollution, and economic hardship. Residents currently live with a Duke natural gas turbine, a CSX rail station, coal ash transportation, and are on the route for a connecting line for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
The Concerned Citizens of Richmond County recognize the need for jobs in Richmond County. But the local group is calling for good, clean, safe jobs that don’t require residents to be forced to choose between good jobs and clean air.
Bio:
Dr. Robert Parr DO, Presently retired after practicing Emergency Medicine for 30 years in Wilmington, North Carolina.
MS, Biological Oceanography Oregon State University
Board Member Medical Advocates for Health Air
Air Keeper Award 2012 Clean Air Carolina
Pelican Award 2009 North Carolina Coastal Federation
Abstract:
Review of the health effects of air pollution on public health. Primary focus on PM 2.5 and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emitted from Wood Pellet manufacturing. Dr. Parr will discuss statewide levels of PM 2.5 and VOC from Wood Pellet manufacturing and review historic health statistics from communities surrounding these facilities.
Bio:
Danna is the founder of Dogwood Alliance. For 20 years, she has been at the forefront of forest protection in the US, leading hard-hitting campaigns and negotiating ground-breaking forest protection commitments from some of the largest companies in the world. She is a leading voice connecting the dots between climate change, forest destruction and social justice and pushing for forest protection in the US at a scale necessary to meet the sustainability challenges of the 21st Century. She holds a law degree from Emory University.
Abstract:
Danna Smith of Dogwood Alliance will define what it means to elevate forest protection as a solution to climate change and for community resiliency. We have reached a point in the climate crisis where we are recognizing that forest protection has to be at the forefront of climate protection. It will
not be enough to simply scale up wind and solar energy production. We need to decrease logging and increase forest conservation to reduce carbon emissions and increase carbon sequestration, and put a stop to false climate solutions.
Wood pellets are not a green, clean climate-friendly fuel. North Carolina is ground zero for the expanding wood pellet industry, and is the only state where there is a new industrial scale plant slated for construction in the near future. This industry is just another polluting, land degrading industry that hinders sustainable economic development in our rural communities.
The wood pellet industry is taking North Carolina backwards not forwards on renewable energy, and is hindering the economic development of our rural communities. The industrial model of resource extraction has not benefitted rural North Carolina. It has left residents with increased vulnerability to
air pollution, storms, floods, and other natural disasters. We need a new economic model that includes forest protection as a central component of economic development planning.
Dogwood Alliance has been a key player in documenting the impacts of the wood pellet industry on the ground in North Carolina and across the South, and has been in direct communication with European policymakers who are driving the expansion of this industry in the Southern US.
Bio:
In 2007, Pete became concerned about the problems with the European transport
biofuel mandate and was horrified to learn about planning approval for biofuel power
stations in London, at Beckton and Southall (successfully stopped). He met the local
campaigning group Food Not Fuel, first as a musical contributor to their protests,
but soon as a regular meeting attendant. His interest led him to Biofuelwatch.org.
Abstract:
Pete will provide the conference with a perspective from the UK and the European
Union on the problem of the subsidized market, focusing on how propaganda depicts
biomass energy as renewable and low emission, with subsidies skewed away from truly
renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, and straight into the biomass trap.
He will touch on policy uncertainty and the risks behind the Brexit decision and
will also detail grass-roots opposition and explore possibilities for cooperation
across the Atlantic.
Bio:
Based in SELC’s Virginia office in Charlottesville, David Carr, General Counsel, has been with SELC for 31 years. In parallel to his work on wood biomass, he is leading SELC’s advocacy for offshore wind power. At the invitation of members of the European Parliament, European NGOs, and the Joint Research Center of the European Commission, David has traveled to Europe on multiple occasions to discuss the climate and forest impacts of burning wood from southern U.S. states to generate electricity in the European Union. In coordination with the National Wildlife Federation, he oversaw separate studies on the carbon and wildlife impacts of forest biomass sourcing in the Southeast. He also was among the clean energy advocates that helped prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from treating wood biomass as inherently carbon-neutral in the Clean Power Plan, the new rule (now on hold) for controlling carbon pollution from existing power plants. David is the former longtime leader of SELC’s National Forests and Parks Program and, in that role, was at the forefront of the effort to secure permanent protection for the 750,000 acres of roadless areas in Southern Appalachian national forests. He also helped secure wilderness designation for 53,500 acres and national scenic area status for 10,000 acres in Virginia. A Virginia native, David is an honors graduate of Princeton University and received his law degree in 1983 from the University of Virginia.
Abstract:
Bio:
Originally from Union County, N. C., Alvin Braswell received a BS in Wildlife Biology with a Botany minor and a MS in Zoology from N. C. State University. He served in the US Army and reached the rank of E-5. Currently, he is retired from the N. C. State Museum of Natural Sciences, where he spent over 40 years in various curatorial roles with reptiles, amphibians, and freshwater fishes before being the Research Lab Director, and later, assuming a Deputy Museum Director for Operations position. In the Deputy Director role, he was instrumental with the planning, construction and operations of the Nature Research Center wing of the Museum. Now, in an Emeritus Research Curator position with the Museum, he has returned to his primary field biologist love. Publications include co-authorship on Reptiles of North Carolina and Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia, and the booklet Venomous Snakes of North Carolina. He served for over 20 years on the Plant Conservation Program’s Scientific Committee and chaired that committee for 5 years. Also, he served on the Nongame Wildlife Advisory Committee for the N. C. Wildlife Resources Commission for over 25 years and chaired the Scientific Councils for Amphibians and Reptiles, and Freshwater Fishes for periods during that time. As an Adjunct Instructor with N. C. State University, he co-taught ZO 542 (Herpetology) from 1996 – 2013 with Dr. Harold Heatwole. In retirement, he is involved with the Friends of Plant Conservation, Carolina Wetlands Association, Tar River Land Conservancy, N. C. Herpetological Society, Wake County Parks, Recreation, and Open Space, Triangle Land Conservancy, N. C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Alligator Task Force, and various research projects with the N. C. State Museum of Natural Sciences. As an avid nature photographer, he shares photos with various conservation organizations for both educational and promotional purposes. Honors include Outstanding Graduate Student Teacher from NCSU, Governor’s Wildlife Conservationist of the Year, Order of the Longleaf Pine, Governor’s Award for Excellence, and the Thomas L. Quay Award for Wildlife Conservation from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.
Abstract:
Amphibians and Reptiles and the Wood Pellet industry
Hardwood forest and Longleaf Pine systems and, in many cases, old growth forests are very important to a significant percentage of the herpetological species that occur in North Carolina. Of the 90+ species of amphibians, 49 are listed in the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s (NCWRC) Wildlife Action Plan (NCWAP) as Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). About 48% of these have dependence on mature forest systems, and 14 are already Federally and/or State listed species. Of the 70+ species of reptiles in North Carolina, 41 are listed in the NCWAP as SGCN. About 56% of these have dependence on mature forest systems, and 7 are already Federally and/or State listed species. Dispersal capabilities vary widely and the amphibians and reptiles with limited abilities to travel thru inhospitable habitats are much more susceptible to the “island effects” of habitat fragmentations and size reductions. With increasing loss of mature forest systems, greater fragmentation of habitats, increased mortality and extinction events, the likelihood of more species being placed on State and Federal endangered species’ lists is certain. Maintaining adequate natural communities to avoid greater endangerment of the state’s fauna and flora not only protects the natural diversity of the state, but also helps insure public health, economic security, recreational opportunities, and overall quality of life. Regulating threats to insure sustainability of the state’s resources should be a priority and requires consideration of a broad spectrum of natural communities. Forested wetland communities are a particular concern for many reasons.
Bio:
Dr. Abt is Carl Alwyn Schenck professor in the College of Natural Resources at NC State University where he teaches natural resource management and forest economics. He has 25 years of experience in bio-economic modeling of southern forest resources and markets. In the last decade, he has focused on the potential impact of bio-energy demand on the sustainability of the resource and traditional wood dependent industries. Dr. Abt has provided consultation on this topic to the National Academy of Sciences, EPA, Department of Energy and the US Forest Service. Non-governmental consultations include the Packard Foundation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Southern Environmental Law Center, Environmental Defense Fund, Pinchot Institute, Heinz Center, Environmental and Energy Study Institute, Southern Group of State Foresters, and the Duke University Climate Change Partnership.
Abstract:
His talk will focus on the emergence of the pellet industry and its impact on southern forest resources and markets. It will include a discussion on important factors that affect the carbon impact of pellet-based energy production.
Bio:
Alan Weakley is a plant taxonomist, community ecologist, and conservationist specializing in the Southeastern United States. He holds a B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Ph.D. from Duke University. He has worked as botanist and ecologist for the N.C. Natural Heritage Program, and as regional and chief ecologist for The Nature Conservancy and NatureServe. He is currently Director of the UNC Herbarium, a department of the N.C. Botanical Garden, and teaches as adjunct faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill and at the Highlands Biological Station. Alan is author of the Flora of the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic States, and co-author (with Chris Ludwig and Johnny Townsend) of the Flora of Virginia, which has received five awards, including the Thomas Jefferson Award for Conservation. He has also released an app, FloraQuest, co-developed with Michael Lee and Rudy Nash, covering the Southeastern United States flora. He has authored over 100 journal articles and book chapters, and is in high demand as a speaker on plant taxonomy, community classification and mapping, biogeography, and biodiversity. He is active with the Flora of North America project and the United States National Vegetation Classification, serves as an advisor to the N.C. Natural Heritage Program and N.C. Plant Conservation Program, and is a co-founder of the Carolina Vegetation Survey. As a trustee and board member of public and private conservation granting agencies and foundations, he has helped oversee $400,000,000 of land conservation grants in the Southeastern United States.
Abstract:
The North American Coastal Plain was recently designated as the world’s 35th Biodiversity Hotspot, for its combination of high biodiversity (numbers of plant and animal species present), high endemism (uniqueness of the biodiversity present), and biodiversity imperilment (high level of conversion of land to agricultural, urban, suburban, plantation forestry, and other human uses that are largely incompatible with biodiversity maintenance). The region has a small percentage of “de jure” conservation lands and regional biodiversity conservation is dependent on private and public “multiple use” lands which hold important “de facto” biodiversity. The wood pellet industry has the potential to significantly incentivize clear-cutting and/or conversion of privately-owned forests, reducing the resilience of the already shaky biodiversity network in the southeastern United States.
Bio:
Bill Moomaw is Emeritus Professor of International Environment and Resource policy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University where he continues as co-director of the Global Development and Environment Institute. He is a chemist who has been working on climate science and policy for nearly 30 years. He has worked on the role of renewable energy in reducing heat-trapping gases, and on increasing the role of forests and other ecosystems to actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in plants and soils. He has served as a lead author of five Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports including the Special Report on Renewable Energy that assessed the future of bioenergy. He serves as board chair of the Woods Hole Research Center, a leading research institution on forests and climate, and The Climate Group North America, an international organization that works with states, regions and companies to reduce their heat trapping emissions. He and his wife, Margot have just completed ten years living in one of the first zero net energy homes in New England that produces and exports to the grid more energy than it uses for heat, hot water and all electrical appliances and lighting.
Abstract:
Forests play multiple roles in controlling climate through the removal and storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide, producing oxygen, managing water quantity and quality and supporting wildlife and biological diversity. These services along with recreation are non-extractive. Forests also provide a wide variety of forest products that require removal of trees top produce wood for furniture and building, pulp for paper and biomass for fuel including the new industry of combustible wood pellets.
Climate change is accelerating as more carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere from fossil fuels and bioenergy. There is thus a tension between maintaining existing forests for multiple services and cutting them for forest products. Most policies favor extraction over protection.
The growth of the wood pellet industry for the production of electricity has lead to increased cutting of forests, and this has been promoted as helpful to the climate and the pellet industry has promoted wood burning to replace fossil fuels including coal as carbon neutral, and even convinced governments to declare that this is true.
In this presentation, I will explain why burning wood pellets actually produce more carbon dioxide than coal per unit of electricity, and the regrowth of forests does not make it carbon neutral or more importantly climate neutral. Also, burning wood to make electricity cannot compete economically with other sources including natural gas, wind and solar power. The current subsidies being paid in the US and in Europe place large financial burdens on electric power users and taxpayers.
Instead of paying to pollute and add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, it would be much more cost effective to pay landowners for the flood and erosion control and other benefits that they provide.
