Trees, Not Green
The Stanford Carnegie Institute recently revealed planting trees can be an ineffective carbon dioxide offset. Forests potentially trap more heat while absorbing sunlight than the amount of CO2 they eliminate.
Trees outside the tropics actually warm the earth, trapping heat in what is called the albedo effect. The institute stated that by 2100, Northern hemisphere forests could cause 10°F temperatures increase in some areas.
Concerns have also been raised about management of the forests. While ‘biodegradable’ is touted as environmentally positive, anything that rots releases carbon dioxide. This applies to trees too.
Chris Field, an ecologist at the institute, said: ‘Solving the carbon problem is about reducing emission rather than storage.’
The study comes at a time when companies offering to plant-trees are expected to rake in £300 million by 2010.
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