The Truth About America's "Wood Basket": Why the U.S. South is Losing Its Forests

The forest industry is booming in the American South, but communities like those in the Carolinas are raising concerns about the environmental and social costs. Discover their innovative solutions and what it means for sustainability.

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Full Episode Description:  The forest industry in the American South is booming, but at what cost? According to some government leaders, logging is bringing big economic gains to rural America. But in places like the Carolinas, frontline communities – and especially the low-income people of color and Indigenous people who live in the midst of all this — are telling a different story, and have solutions. With Trump’s increased tariffs on Canadian timber and wood products, deforestation is only going to speed up in America’s “wood basket.” Two Carolina-based organizations are converting a 300-acre former South Carolina plantation into the South’s first environmental justice training center: the Brittons Neck Community Forest. In this episode, Laura is joined by three guests spearheading the project. Lucia Ibarra and Danna Smith are from the Dogwood Alliance, an organization based in Asheville, North Carolina that mobilizes diverse voices to protect Southern forests and communities from destructive industrial logging. Reverend Leo Woodberry is a South Carolina-based faith leader & environmental activist. Together they’re showing the true value of forests in the US South, and what it means to remain climate resilient in the face of heavy industry. Plus, a commentary from Laura on what trees can teach us about gender identity.

“. . . We will start beginning to develop case studies and highlight it to policy makers . . . We are going to expand upon these other communities and create other pathways to justice in using this model. And this will help to build a foundation, to create equitable policy that elevates people, ecosystem, the value of them over the industries that are greenwashing . . . - Lucia Ibarra

“. . . This project is something that we like to refer to as restorative justice. We know that people labored on this land in slavery without compensation, and so for them to have the land now and be able to use it for recreational activities, et cetera, can help them to create an engine of economic development . . . We see that as restorative justice . . .” - Reverend Leo Woodberry

“. . . Too often there's this narrative about logging for economic development . . . We needed to show the alternative, and how you can keep forest standing in a community in a way that actually benefits the community. That it’s good for climate, it's good for biodiversity, it's good for climate resiliency, and it's good for the local economy.” - Danna Smith

Guests:

• Lucia Ibarra: Director of Conservation, Dogwood Alliance

• Danna Smith: Executive Director, Dogwood Alliance

• Reverend Leo Woodberry: Pastor, Kingdom Living Temple & Executive Director, New Alpha Community Development Corporation

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Music In the Middle:  “Meditation align with Nature’s Intelligence” by Divine Earth featuring Sirius B from her album Align with Nature’s Intelligence released on Brownswood Recordings.  And additional music included- "Steppin"  and "All The Ways" by Podington Bear.

Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:

• Jubilee Justice Regenerative Farming: Tackling Racism with Rice: Watch / Podcast:  Episode & Related Commentary by Laura

• Colette Pichon Battle on Climate Justice Reparations: Watch / Podcasts: Episode & Full Conversation

• Climate Change Journalism: Moving Frontline Communities from the Sideline to the Center: Watch / Podcast:  Episode

Related Articles and Resources:

•  Duties on Canadian lumber have helped U.S. production grow while B.C. towns suffer.  Now, Trump’s tariffs loom, by Andrew Kurjata, November 7, 2024, CBC News

• Deforestation in the US South Is Four Times Greater Than Logging in South American Rainforests, by Danna Smith & Leo Woodberry, Truth Out

• Impacts of Wood Pellets in the US, by Dogwood Alliance

•  Logging is destroying southern forests - and dividing US environmentalists, by Christopher Ketcham, June 29, 2022, Grist

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