First Name | Sue |
---|---|
Last Name | Lynn |
Email Address | suelynn403@yahoo.com |
Affiliation | Sierra Club |
Subject | CARB's Draft Scoping Plan |
Comment | December 14, 2010 The Honorable May Nichols, Chair California Air Resources Board Dear Ms. Nichols and Members of the California Air Resources Board: I am writing to urge you to eliminate forest clearcutting from the Forest Carbon Offset Program. I live in Shasta County, and I see clearcuts all around me and they have destroyed much of the appeal of living in a rural area. Clearcutting has devastating impacts on habitat for wildlife, on the ability of forests to cope with climate change as temperatures increase in clearcut areas, and on water quality, upon which much of the state relies. Most significant, though is the fact that clearcutting, followed by the creation of plantation tree farms, releases more carbon to the atmosphere than any other type of forest management. Carbon is released from slash that is left on the ground and later burned, from wood by-products, and from the soil. Soil contains large amounts of carbon; in the process of logging, and using heavy equipment to rip open the soil to plant the young plantation trees, much of that carbon is released. The timber industry argues that tree plantations take up carbon quickly and thus store more carbon than before. Research studies by most forest scientists indicate that while an individual small tree may take up carbon more quickly than an older one, for many decades the amount stored by an older forest far outweighs the amount taken up by a younger one. We don’t have decades to wait. Climate change is occurring far faster than climate scientists predicted just a few years ago. Clearcutting is deforestation, and climate scientists and forestry scientists alike know that deforestation is one of the major sources of carbon emissions. Whom should we trust? The timber industry, whose bottom line is profit? Or should we trust forest scientists who work for universities or nonprofit groups, whose concern is scientific truth? We don’t believe the oil companies when they tell us that global warming isn’t caused by human activity. Why should we trust the claims of the timber industry whose economic interests are at stake over independent scientists? To preserve the rich resources of our forests, which provide recreation, wildlife habit, clean water, and wood products, we need to preserve our forests from deforestation. If we encourage clearcutting through AB32, all the benefits of the forests will be degraded more quickly than is already occurring. Please do not make forest clearcutting count for carbon offsets. Sincerely, Sue Lynn Montgomery Creek, California |
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Date and Time Comment Was Submitted | 2010-12-14 17:39:09 |
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