From:                                         Fred Small <info@email.actionnetwork.org>

Sent:                                           Saturday, May 25, 2019 10:48 PM

To:                                               RPS, DOER (ENE)

Subject:                                     Burning wood & trash for energy is a terrible idea.

 

John Wassam,

I ask the Department of Energy Resources and Governor Charlie Baker to stop renewable energy subsidies for biomass and trash incineration in Massachusetts.

Having studied ecology, I know that forests provide a myriad of benefits (some quantifiable, others beyond counting) to human beings. As a pastor, I know that forests are sacred, a precious gift of God's creation. While renewable, they can be desecrated and destroyed.

Biomass and trash incineration are bad for our health. Incineration pollutes our air with toxic chemicals that can cause respiratory problems like asthma as well as heart disease, cancer, and other serious health problems. Incineration will have a negative impact on the health of all people who live near these polluting facilities.

Further, biomass incineration will exacerbate climate change at a time when we must be doing everything in our power to stop it.

Massachusetts has already made great strides towards increasing renewable energy to protect our health and climate. Let’s not reverse that progress by using funds set aside for clean, renewable energy to fund dirty, polluting industries like biomass and trash incineration.

Fred Small
fsmall52@gmail.com
4 Theriault Court
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140