We must build a lasting legacy for our children. Together we will push back the industries that threaten our forests, and over the coming decades, we will secure the protection of millions of acres across the South, protection that values the clean air and water, climate stabilization, flood control and wildlife that standing, living forests provide.
“The message from conservationists and communities across the country is clear, burning wood for electricity is bad for our climate and quality of life,” said Adam Macon from Dogwood Alliance. “The US Senate should stick to the business of protecting the people and environment, not create sweetheart deals for their favorite industries at the expense of the rest of us.”
We came from all across the region to peacefully gather in Romare-Bearden park to physically and symbolically stand tall to protect Southern forests, public health and Southern communities. The world’s largest biomass conference, The International Biomass Conference and Expo, was gathered just down the street, scheming new ways to turn our precious wetland forests into pellets and ship them across the ocean to be burned for fuel in Europe.
Have you ever been to a clearcut? Nothing is left but stumps and silence. Have you ever been to a clearcut BEFORE it was a clearcut? When it was a lively natural forest? With habitat for woodpeckers, bears, cypress trees, salamanders and flowers?
Today is the International Day of Forests, a day to celebrate the ways forests sustain life on Earth. Around the globe, the prominent role forests play in the fight against climate change is at the forefront of efforts to keep global temperatures at a level that ensures an inhabitable planet. Yet, forest protection in the U.S. is barely a blip on the radar of environmental organizations, corporate sustainability leaders, and policy makers.
