Burning wood pellets as a form of energy has been a growing trend since 2009 when the European Union deemed it carbon neutral and began to subsidize the conversion to this 鈥済reener鈥� form of energy.
But scientists are increasingly warning that cutting down forests for wood pellet production is a net loss for the environment. Journalist looked into , one of the leaders in the biomass industry who operates three of its seven mills in rural North Carolina. His reporting outlines the environmental impact of deforestation, the health effects on the poverty-stricken towns that house the mills, and the growing backlash to the use of wood pellets. Host Frank Stasio talks with Vaughan about his article 鈥溾�� featured in the Food and Environment Reporting Network. Vaughan鈥檚 latest book is 鈥溾��(Little A/2019).
