Plant a Tree- Absolve Your Sins?
'Carbon Offsetting' by paying to have trees planted has become a major industry for people who like to carry on producing masses of carbon dioxide via their air travel etc. A recent report (http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2053447,00.html) has focused on a paper by a Dr Bala at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in the USA who has demonstrated that only forests in a thin band around the equator are actually of net benefit in reducing global warming. In deed, trees planted above the 50 degree latitude actually make the situation worse as their dark forest canopies absorb more of the sun's rays than do grasslands or snowfields. Trees near the equator, not only absorb carbon dioxide for photosynthesis but promote convection clouds that help to cool the planet. So it appears that paying to plant a tree in the UK will only make things worse, although it might sooth the payer's conscience.
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