Forests are a key part of the climate equation. They capture and store carbon, create rain clouds, shade the land, filter our water, make fresh air and provide critical homes for our wildlife.
Forests are a key part of the climate equation. They capture and store carbon, create rain clouds, shade the land, filter our water, make fresh air and provide critical homes for our wildlife.
Perhaps it is a pity that so many Australians think of our parks, gardens, streetscapes and urban landscapes only in terms of their aesthetics. While green spaces are beautiful and decorative, these attributes can mask the many functions vegetation serves in cities, to the point where its economic, social and environmental benefits are overlooked. Yes, …
French botanist Francis Hall makes a case for the defence of trees as a powerful ally in saving the Earth’s ecosystems Give me a tree and I’ll save the world ? that is the message that comes across from a book just published by the French botanist Francis Hall?, Du bon usage des arbres (Making …
If you get confused by all the talk of carbon trading, prices, international negotiations and Kyoto rules, you’re not alone. But here’s an attempt to simplify a part of it. Sadly, forests are still being done over by the latest wheeling and dealing. Late last year there was the Durban Climate Conference. Countries worked on …
Burning Trees for Energy Increases Carbon Pollution and Destroys Our Forests Forests cover 30 percent of the Earth’s surface. They purify our air and water, control soil erosion, foster biodiversity, serve as habitat for wildlife, and provide us with places to hike, fish, hunt, camp, and enjoy undisturbed environments. Forests also serve as carbon …
LONG understood to be the lungs of the earth, the world’s great forests are much more important in the carbon cycle than was previously believed, soaking up one-third of all fossil fuel emissions, according to new research. Standing forests remove 2.4 billion tonnes of carbon a year from the atmosphere, almost five times Australia’s total …
This is exciting! As one forest campaigner said – formally recognising the carbon potential of forests is a “game changer”. What we have been saying for years has finally been shown to be right by the CSIRO. The world’s intact forests absorb about 1/3rd of our carbon emissions every year. This makes forests the most …
The Green Carbon Report put out by the Australian National University shows that industrially managed forests only return to 60% of their original (undisturbed) carbon capacity if left to grow on. The carbon stock of forests subject to commercial logging, and of monoculture plantations in particular, will always be significantly less on average (~40 to …
Remarkably, Australia’s native forests store more carbon pollution than any other forests on Earth. If we protect them, we can immediately reduce emissions and store the pollution from nine coal-fired power stations every year. There now is a once in a generation opportunity to protect our native forests–a crucial lifeline for our climate. But to …
A large team of EEG members and supporters created and marched, as part of a crowd of 40,000 people, with a huge yellow banner through the city streets in early December 2009 to highlight the role forests play in the climate solution. Forests are being overlooked in the whole debate, and as France rightly pointed …
Old forests – those that are more than 200 years old – are not protected by international treaties because they were thought to be carbon neutral. But a team from Belgium says such forests actually continue to take up carbon dioxide and are therefore important carbon sinks. Sebastiaan Luyssaert and colleagues at Antwerp University reckon …
