Clear Cut – Wood Pellet Production, the Destruction of Forests, and the Case for Environmental Justice

Clear Cut, takes a comprehensive look at the forces driving the wood pellet industry’s hold in the United States. Industrial-scale wood pellets have been globally touted as a ‘green’ technology to lessen dependence on fossil fuels. However, burning wood pellets is worse for climate change than coal, one of the dirtiest fossil fuels, drives the massive clear cutting of US forests in the southeast and harms the health of surrounding communities. With an in-depth case study of Enviva in North Carolina, Clear Cut analyzes the unjust economics and politics behind why the industry has been allowed to continue and what the adverse effects have been.