CelloMom On Cars

"#Indonesia’s strategy for increasing renewable energy production could see #Indigenous communities lose huge swathes of their forests to #biomass plantations."

https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/revealed-biomass-company-poised-to-clear-bornean-rainforest-for-dubious-green-energy/
#Rainforest

Revealed: Biomass firm poised to clear Bornean rainforest for dubious ‘green’ energy

LABAN NYARIT, Indonesia — Ipu Angit’s close relationship with the forest here in the interior of Borneo is evident as he identifies the plants and trees he uses to meet his daily needs, venturing deeper in despite the hot, humid weather and his advanced age. One moment he deftly fashions a makeshift umbrella out of […]

Mongabay Environmental News
Oct 21, 2024 at 7:57amWeb
Show threadCelloMom On CarsOct 27, 2024

"Enormous swathes of pristine #forest are being cut down across #Indonesia to supply the rapidly rising international demand for biomass material seen as critical to many countries’ transitions to cleaner forms of energy.

Nearly all of the #biomass from forests destroyed for #WoodPellet production since 2021 has been shipped to South Korea and Japan."

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3284033/indonesian-forests-pay-price-growing-global-biomass-energy-demand

Indonesian forests pay the price for growing biomass energy demand

Much of the biomass from forests destroyed for wood pellets has been sent to South Korea and Japan.

South China Morning Post
Show thread😀🚲Oct 27, 2024
@CelloMomOnCars the important thing about biomass is to regrow it faster than we burn it, is that not happening? There's also species diversity and other ecosystem impacts to worry about but maybe policy needs to account for the whole picture
Show threadCelloMom On CarsOct 27, 2024

@enobacon

"It grows back". Sure, but never the same: clearcutting may forever change the underlying land and soil, and as you point out, the biodiversity is destroyed and the water cycle too if the cutting is done at large enough scale.

We really need to stop burning stuff for energy, and certainly cutting wood for fuel is so neolithic: we can do better than that.

Show thread😀🚲Oct 27, 2024
@CelloMomOnCars I don't think it's as simple as stopping, since forest fires will keep happening, there needs to be a wiser use of biomass for fuel, with cleaner burning gasification and carbon sequestration, coppicing. But that doesn't mean clear-cutting and probably not shipping overseas. More of a distributed localized industry, that will be harder to regulate in some ways but also less profitable for capital and more beneficial for people and environment.
Show threadCelloMom On CarsOct 27, 2024

@enobacon

I really believe that if Japan or Korea or the United Kingdom want clean energy they are much much better off installing solar or wind, And not importing wood pellets from Indonesia.

This is not about forest fires, this is about clearcutting mature forest so that developed countries can pretend they have "clean" energy. The pretense needs to stop. The colonialism needs to stop. The burning of stuff for energy needs to stop.

Show thread😀🚲Oct 27, 2024
@CelloMomOnCars stopping the import/export yeah, I'm sure there's a deficit of regrowth needed there. The policy incentives for biofuel need to emphasize local and sustainable processes, which is hard enough for well-meaning lawmakers to get right even before international shipping gets involved. Maybe that's not even possible in current political/economic systems.
Show threadAdrianna TanOct 27, 2024
@enobacon @CelloMomOnCars given the situation with Indonesian deforestation at any stage with any source of fuel.. probably no; never
Show thread😀🚲Oct 27, 2024
@skinnylatte @CelloMomOnCars yeah, exporting environmental destruction besides the whole importing process being dependent on fossil fuels 😞 Somehow it gets easier to pass something off as "sustainable" the farther you ship it.
Show threadDr Susi ArnottOct 21, 2024
@CelloMomOnCars #stopburningtrees