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The Bridge: A Black Hole for Accountability

Missing data about deaths in BIA custody raises serious alarm — and emphasizes the many ways our federal government is still failing to protect tribal nations.

“When it comes to the way the federal government interacts with Indigenous communities, accountability is like a black hole,” Maren said. “This instance is not an anomaly.”

Biomass energy plants: see themselves as a cost-effective solution for farmers who need to get rid of dead trees and other woody waste that pose wildfire risks without openly burning them; they also produce energy

Utilities companies: looking for the "least-cost, best-fit" source of energy, don't care where it comes from just that it's reasonably priced

Farmers: need cheap ways to dispose of waste

Technology to dispose of woody waste from almond trees in ways other than open burning or biomass facilities doesn't exist yet, at least at the scale needed for massive almond orchards

Closures of biomass energy plants have forced SJVAPCD to allow more open burning of agricultural waste, which produces particulate matter and contributes to already severe air quality in the Central Valley