Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine
Reforesting is a good idea, but it is necessary to know where and how
Is planting trees in naturally open canopy areas such as the savanna needed to absorb mankind's "unnatural" CO2 emissions or is it mere disregard for the law of unintended consequences? Alternately, would simply letting forests do what forests do best be more sensible? If the latter is pursued and a naturally heavily forested place like northern New England alters its use of forests to heighten carbon capture, what are the local economic effects, particularly given the biggest CO2 emitter is China?
Reforesting is a good idea, but it is necessary to know where and how
An article recently published in Science, entitled “The global tree restoration potential”, presents what it calls “the most effective solution at our disposal to mitigate climate change”. The lead author is Jean-François Bastin, an ecologist affiliated with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich).
The article attracted enormous media attention. It reports the results of a study in which Bastin and collaborators used remote sensing and modeling techniques to estimate that forest restoration in areas totaling 900 million hectares worldwide could store 205 gigatonnes of carbon.
The full article can be read at the following weblink:
Study Finds the Wealthy & Celebrities Aren’t Changing Their Flying Habits to Reduce CO2 Emissions
Some are responsible for a thousand times more CO2 emissions than the average.
Frank J. Heller, MPA
Just personal observations but mixed, mature hardwood forests are disappearing from Maine. I'd rather not replace them with evergreens but the same and re-introducing new species or those which are rare, i..e ash. the other replacement are urban foraging forests with fruit and nut groves. The slightly warmer climate may also enable replacement with southern N.Eng. species. Grasslands are nice but not entirely natural, since most are abandoned hay-fields or pasture. Land trusts are acquiring them and building out the adjoining forest from the edges inward.
Clearcutting is really that almost like strip mining, since everything is chipped, leaving a desert. wouldn't mind some guidance on reclamation and reforestation efforts.
Oct 23, 2019
Willem Post
Frank/Penny,
http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/dartmouth-reconsidering...
http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/vermont-is-harvesting-w...
http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/dartmouth-s-planned-bio...
http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/co2-emissions-from-logg...
http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/burning-wood-produces-e...
Clearcutting in New England: Google Maps shows clearcutting in New England, including on “protected” public recreational and watershed lands in MA, NH and MA, is revealed to be more prevalent than implied by various pro-logging publications. See an abundance of photos in this URL.
http://www.maforests.org
Oct 24, 2019
Penny Gray
The fact that colleges, supposed institutions of higher learning, dismiss nuclear and condone clearcutting our forests in their passion to save the planet is quite discouraging, since right now nuclear's the only workable solution we have to an energy hungry population. On a more positive note, the forester who just re-upped my woodlot plan suggested "logging in the winter to minimize soil disturbance, and to protect nesting songbird species" and he did so without any prompting from me. So, there ARE thinking individuals out there. Just not enough of them.
Oct 24, 2019