Woodman, Spare That High-Carbon Tree

Worldwide deforestation is responsible for 20 percent of all carbon emissions, writes James Cameron in an opinion essay for the London Times. Trees, which absorb and store carbon, take a hundred or more years to grow, and Cameron urges that property owners think before cutting trees down in an economically shortsighted way. “Sir Nicholas Stern said in his ground-breaking climate change review this year that forests offer the single largest opportunity for cost-effective and immediate reductions in emissions,” writes Cameron. “What needs to happen now is for there to be a recognition of the carbon value of forests, not only in their ability to preserve carbon but also in their value as ecosystems providing, for instance, water and biodiversity.” – YaleGlobal