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Culture, Energy, Power Collaborative Project Statement

This statement outlines our goals for the Biomass project, what materials we assembled, and our guiding theoretical compasses for analysis of our work during Dr.

Environmental Injustice in Eastern North Carolina, USA

Project page for research on environmental injustice in Eastern North Carolina, USA.

Timeline of Biomass in Eastern North Carolina

This timeline documents the emergence and evolution of the biomass industry in Eastern North Carolina.

Disproportionate Impacts

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In response to

10. What intersecting injustices -- data, economic, epistemic, gender, health, infrastructure, intergenerational, media, procedural, racial, reproductive -- contribute to environmental injustice in this setting?

In my opinion, something that is ethically wrong with this case is the fact that much of the pollution coming from biomass factories like Enviva are disproportionately affecting Black and Brown rural comminities. These communities experience health issues from the saw dust and can be seen cleaning sawdust off their outside belongings. It is important to see how much thes communities are impacted when looking at biomass corporations.

Grace Fine Annotation

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In response to

5. What have different stakeholder groups done (or not done) in response to the problems in this setting?

The complaints of Duplin County residents and the Environmental Justice Community Action Network about general permitting for hog farms in Eastern NC. These permits would give way to more ground and water pollution due to the relaxed regulations on corporate farms that hold multiple different numbers of livestock. Plans for the implementationa pipline called the "Grady Road project" interrupt the family and small scale farms in the ares. A quote from the Duplin County NAACP president Robert O. Moore says:

"The corporation has refused to implement any technology to clean up the water, citing the cost of doing so was too expensive. Yet the cost of this biogas project rivals the cost that would have been to implement cleaner and safer technology to ensure the safety of those living near these operations."

Many local groups in Eastern NC counties have previously tried to receive assistance to help with their agriculture waste managment systems, yet fall short due to many government officials only focusing on corporate farms.