Fighting Global Climate Change
Climate Change and Forest Management
Everyone can agree that the earth’s climate is changing, while the disagreements lie in to what extent man or natural cycles are to blame. The good news is that well managed forests and the use of lumber products that sequester carbon can help address this issue. It is widely accepted that forests are a great sequester of carbon and tree planting is the number one carbon offset. Healthy, fast growing forests are critical to capturing and storing carbon, but unfortunately a majority of our nation’s federal forests are in an unhealthy condition, growing poorly and at risk to catastrophic wildfires.
Every year more acres of our forests, key watersheds and critical wildlife habitats are lost due to these wildfires and the effects of climate change will make the situation worse. We need to spend the limited taxpayers’ money on thinning our forests to improve forest health, increase growth, manufacture lumber products, produce biomass energy, and reduce the intensity of the fires, instead of busting the budget to extinguish these catastrophic wildfires. Furthermore, these fires release tons of carbon into the atmosphere and without prompt salvage of dead timber for manufacturing into lumber products and replanting of the area, the impacts to climate change are exacerbated. The science is also clear that the use of lumber is better for the environment and has a smaller carbon footprint than the alternatives such as steel, brick and concrete.
The Basics:
Trees are mainly composed of carbon and can serve as permanent “stores” of carbon in forests and wood products (houses, posts, furniture, etc.). Generally speaking, younger trees absorb vast amounts of carbon quickly. As trees age, the rate at which they absorb carbon decreases. Once a tree dies, it slowly releases carbon through decomposition. Trees and woody debris (woody biomass) can also be used as fuel to create power or biofuels. This power is renewable, naturally occurring in forests, and adds value to otherwise unmerchantable material. Most analyses show that for every bone dry ton of biomass used to generate power, there is a net reduction of approximately one ton of greenhouse gasses (GHG). The most conservative estimate calculates that energy from woody biomass is carbon neutral, significantly better than almost all other sources.
Catastrophic Wildfire:
As catastrophic wildfires burn, carbon contained in trees and buildings is rapidly released in the air. It is important to note that moderate to low intensity wildfires can be healthy and part of natural ecosystems, but in the past decade we’ve seen a massive increase of hot and devastating wildfires. Most of our public forests are unhealthy due to past mismanagement and many need treatment to remove small trees and woody debris (hazardous fuels) that serve as fuel for catastrophic forest fires. Last year ten million acres burned due to massive wildfires and cost $1.5 billion to fight; this is an upward trend that, according to all indications, will continue. This trend also promises more GHGs released into the atmosphere including highly toxic carbon monoxide (produced by incomplete burning of carbon). But it is possible to get ahead of this problem through proper forest management and hazardous fuels reduction projects on overstocked forests. Once hazardous fuels are removed, remaining trees and seedlings become healthier and more vibrant enabling them to absorb more carbon. Beyond this, the woody debris removed from forests can be used for wood products or biomass fuel/energy production. This added value can pay for itself and also acts as a net carbon sink by absorbing GHGs.
The Demand:
Though most American’s are aware of climate change, their demand for consumer products and energy continues to rise. Conservation measures and restrictions on GHG emissions may quell some of this demand, but America will still need vast and diverse energy resources to fuel the economy. Biomass could play a large role in producing power and biofuels in additional to restoring forest health. Currently, experts state roughly 180 million acres of public lands are at risk to catastrophic wildfire and need treatment. While this number is overwhelming, it provides an enormous opportunity to remove hazardous fuels and utilize woody biomass in a way that reduces GHGs rather than adds to them (wildfire).
Part of the Solution:
Deforestation of tropical forests (eliminating substantial carbon sinks) currently accounts for 25 percentage of global GHGs. Much of the deforestation is due to the demand for wood and agricultural products in developed countries. Tackling America’s forest health crisis and producing domestic wood products and energy in the process, could lessen the burden on tropical forests. The United States has the most stringent environmental protection laws in the world. Using our own wood resources is socially responsible and would fight global climate change.
Facts:
• Actively managed forests, resistant to insects and disease, could lead to a 50-60% reduction in acres burned due to wildfire; this would equate to a reduction of at least 1 million tons of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions annually in California alone (Finney, et al.).
• Managed forests sequester 1.25 tons of carbon/acre/year; unmanaged forests (national forests) sequester 0.5 tons of carbon/acre/year (Sierra Pacific Industries Study—soon to be released)
• Most analyses show that 1 bone dry ton of wood biomass used in a biomass powerplant to generate electricity equals a net 1 ton reduction in GHG emissions compared to a coal or natural gas-fired powerplant (Dr. Gregg Morris, Green Power Institute).
• Aluminum, steel, and concrete products require 250% more fossil fuel energy to create than an equivalent wood product (Dr. Bruce Lippke - www.corrim.org/reports/2005/swst/3.pdf).
• Through 2050, 12-15% of projected fossil fuel emissions could be offset by forests, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
• Managed forests in the US currently remove the Greenhouse Gasses emitted by 235 million cars annually (U.S. EPA).
• A recent study comparing actively managed private land to not currently managed national forest land showed that the private land, including wood products from the land, sequestered 230 tons of carbon over the 90 year analysis period. In contrast, the national forest land only sequestered 150 tons of carbon per acre over the analysis period (Carbon Sequestration in Sierra Pacific Industry Forests: A Watershed Example–to be released soon).
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