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Forests
While metallic soils often kill plants, scientists have been studying certain species of trees that are able to thrive in these soils and store metals–like nickel–in their tissue and seeds as a result. As the New York Times recently wrote, “This vegetation could be the world’s most efficient, solar-powered mineral smelters. What if, as a […]
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Yesterday, President Trump announced at Davos that the U.S. will join the “Trillion Tree Initiative” that is being promoted there as a way for world leaders to commit to combatting climate change. The President said yesterday that, “We’re committed to conserving the majesty of God’s creation and the natural beauty of our world.”
Why This Matters: Chanelling our inner Lorax here – the Republicans MAY have brought the President along on planting trees — but it would be really great if they could get him to stop cutting them down.
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Australia’s wildfires have been devastating for wildlife and people alike but there’s another casualty that’s been largely overlooked in media coverage: its forests.
Why This Matters: Forestry groups worry about the immense economic/ecological impact of the burned forests.
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This year will be remembered for searing images of the Amazon burning at an unprecedented rate (there were so many fires you could see them from space), with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro alternating between downplaying the severity of them and then sending in Brazilian military troops to fight the tens of thousands of fires burning there. As we reported, world leaders and environmental organizations — even the Pope — pushed Brazil to take action — and the worst part was most of the fires were started by people who wanted to clear land for agriculture and other development. But fires were bad all over the planet — from the Arctic tundra in Greenland, Alaska, and Siberia, to Australia, and of course, California.
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As California begins to grapple with wildfire management it must also contend with what to do about its forests. From a legal battle playing out about whether the U.S. Forest Service should be able to cut down burned trees to how non-native eucalyptus forests should be managed, not everyone can agree on the best means of forest management.
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The Trump Administration is poised to open nearly 2 million acres of land in U.S. national forests in Texas to oil and gas drilling and fracking, which would allow lease holding companies to drill more than 1,000 horizontal wells and 500 vertical wells over a 20-year time period,
Why This Matters: This is yet another senseless Trump rollback that would do significant environmental damag
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The Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership is a partnership led by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) between national, regional, state, and local agencies, conservation organizations, outdoors enthusiasts, businesses, and citizens that have committed to improving Pennsylvania’s communities, economy, and ecology by planting of 10 million new trees in priority landscapes in Pennsylvania by the end of 2025. Their goal is to plant them alongside rivers and streams to rebuild “riparian forest buffers” that can significantly reduce the amount of polluted runoff coming from those areas and improve soil health by keeping it on the land instead of in the water, as well as providing habitat for fish and other animals.
Why This Matters: This is a win-win-win — due to its climate benefits, soil health improvements, and its contribution to clean water in streams, rivers, and even the Chesapeake Bay. It could be a model for other states.
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According to the American Automobile Association, most people prefer to see the fall colors by taking a road trip by car. But as Mother Jones points out, there are lots of low-carbon alternatives. For example, in New York City there are trains to the upstate New York trail that only take an hour and […]
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While haunted houses may get all the attention around Halloween, haunted forests can give you a fright while also giving you a chance to get out into nature. Check out Condé Nast Traveler’s roundup of 14 Haunted Forests Around the World. Try not to get too scared!
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A new study from the World Wildlife Fund looked at 73 consumer wood products from major US retailers – everything from hairbrushes to furniture to cheese plates – and found that 45, or 62% were mislabeled.
Meaning a product is advertised as one kind of wood, but is actually a completely different species.
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In 2006, California passed a groundbreaking law that required statewide emissions to be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020 with the state’s cap-and-trade system being one of the primary policies implemented to achieve this target. Part of California’s cap-and-trade programs allows polluters to buy carbon offsets from California Air Resources Board (CARB)-approved forestry projects to […]
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We know, usually, our Heroes of the Week are humans but hear us out: trees are serious climate heroes.
Our hero this week is the Stagg Tree which is a giant sequoia tree located in California’s 530-acre Alder Creek forest–and it needs your help! Last month Save the Redwoods League announced an opportunity to purchase Alder Creek, the largest remaining privately owned giant sequoia property in the world.
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