Film asks if Southern trees are the next coal

A documentary about the wood pellet industry, which is booming in Georgia, is coming to Savannah for its Georgia premier.

“Burned: Are Trees the New Coal?” will show at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Coastal Georgia Center at 305 Fahm St. The film tells the story of the accelerating destruction of Southeastern forests for fuel, and probes the policy loopholes, huge subsidies, and greenwashing surrounding the biomass power industry.

Filmmakers Lisa Merton and Alan Dater will team up with Dogwood Alliance and the Stand 4 Forests GA campaign for the Savannah screening and a follow-up question and answer session.

The film follows a dedicated group of forest activists, ecologists, carbon scientists, and concerned citizens who are fighting to establish the value of forests, protect their communities, debunk a false solution to climate change, and alter energy policy both in the U.S. and abroad.

“After every screening to date, we have heard a chorus of incredulous comments from people who had no idea that southern forests are being burned to turn the lights on in Europe,” said Chris Hardee, associate producer.

A number of film festivals have praised “Burned”including the American Conservation Film Festival, where it won the Audience Choice Award, the Wild and Scenic Film Festival and the Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival.

Georgia has joined North Carolina and other southeastern states at the center of increasing international scrutiny around the wood pellet and biomass industry. In the past several months, resolutions opposing the use of taxpayer funds to subsidize the industry have either been passed or proposed in Georgia municipalities, including Chatham County.

“Georgia has an opportunity to be a real champion for forests and for the climate,” said Vicki Weeks, the Georgia State Coordinator for the Dogwood Alliance. “We are not only passing forest protection resolutions at the municipal level, but are also working to expose the true impact of industrial-scale wood pellet facilities on our forests, climate, and communities. Thanks in part to our work to raise awareness of the impacts on air quality, we have seen the largest plant in Georgia add an additional filtration system to their plant.”