Maine Monitor cites Fernandez, Hunter in report about tax breaks for wood pellet industry

The Maine Monitor reported that University of Maine professors Ivan Fernandez and Malcolm Hunter criticized federal tax credits that encourage the use of wood as an alternative home heating fuel. Hunter and more than 500 academic colleagues co-signed a letter noting that cutting trees to be burned for home heating undermines carbon sequestration. Fernandez, who did not sign the letter, supports the group’s stance, noting that expanding the wood burning industry makes it more difficult to reduce greenhouse gases in the near-term unless other carbon emission sources are cut significantly.