Pruitt’s EPA will now classify burning wood as ‘carbon neutral,’ baffling scientists (among others)

Under a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) policy unveiled on Monday, burning forest products, known as biomass, will now be considered a “carbon neutral” fuel source. 

The EPA’s action, which EPA administrator Scott Pruitt announced before an audience of Georgia timber industry leaders, for now settles the question of whether chopping down trees, turning them into wood pellets, and then shipping them to power plants where they’re burned for fuel will be counted as a renewable source of fuel like solar panels or wind turbines.

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