Friday, March 02, 2007

Forests and The Zero Sum Carbon Game

There has been a great deal of discussion, sometimes spirited, around the respective roles of trees and forests in climate change regulation and mitigation. The scientific realities are undeniable, and a first step is understanding the "Zero Sum Carbon Game". Here are some key facts:

A finite volume of cycling carbon on Earth is moving between three main carbon pools, or "accounts":

the atmosphere (the air we breathe)
geological fossil formations (coal, oil, & natural gas deposits)
ecosystems (forests, grasslands, & oceans)

Prior to the industrial revolution, the carbon stored the geological "account" was essentially "locked" beneath the earth's surface, and the transfers of carbon between the other two "accounts" (the atmosphere and ecosystems) balanced each other out. In other words, the photosynthetic removal of carbon as CO₂ from the atmosphere by healthy ecosystems, was counterbalanced by releases from living and decomposing plant and animal life.

With the industrial revolution, came the introduction of a new pool of energy-rich carbon - geological fossil formations. These fossil formations became quickly established as the dominant energy source for the industrialized world. This has not changed: cars burn gasoline; houses and businesses burn natural gas; and power producers burn coal. All of these activities transfer carbon from the geological carbon "account" into the atmospheric "account" where as CO₂ it becomes implicated with global warming.

It is a scientific fact that the ONLY viable way to remove this carbon from the atmospheric account is the photosynthetic action of healthy ecosystems. Healthy ecosystems act like giant carbon sponges for CO₂.

Unfortunately, 60% or more of the ecosystems of the earth have been degraded in their functionality and are impaired in terms of their role of carbon removal capacity.

To combat climate change, we must address two imperatives:

reduce CO₂ emissions into the atmospheric account, by employing low emissions technologies, renewable energy, conservation, and fuel switching, and,
remove more CO₂ from the atmosphere and into ecosystems through ecosystem restoration and the preservation of healthy ecosystems.

ERA addresses the 2^nd imperative by restoring impaired ecosystems to health and functionality, so that they remove more and more CO₂ from the atmosphere over the next centuries. At the same time, science and technology will drive to solve the challenge of the 1^st imperative - developing and deploying clean, emissions-free energy systems.

Forests and The Zero Sum Carbon Game
posted by EcoNeutral on Friday, March 02, 2007