Friday, September 04, 2015

There Are More Trees in the U.S. Now Than There Were 100 Years Ago


Because we burn less wood, and because we manage forests that we do use better, there are more forests, and more trees, than there were a century ago.

This is very good news for a variety of reasons, not least for fighting global warming.

Our better forest management is also a good example of public/private partnerships.  Governments created useful standards for how best to manage forests.  Many private landowners planted trees on previously cleared land, or just let it revert to nature.

Much of this macro-level improvement is the result of many micro-level decisions. There are as many good unintended consequences as bad ones.

2 comments:

Charlotte said...

It's good to know that. I always liked the idea of trees being dustmops for air pollution.

Barry said...

Old Growth forests are wonderful treasured spots, and are very important for perserving our biological heritage, however in our current world with billions of people jocking for life, prosperity, and survival; there must also be other considerations(what a sentence) Logging and timber companies often get a negative rap from the media and enviromentalists, however in their quest for profitablity, they have developed sound menthods for increasing forests. One example is Plum Creek: check their web site for intereting information on timber conservation and yield. Biodiverisity depends on the survival of species