posted on Aug, 9 2006 @ 10:53 AM
Originally posted by R3KR
This isnt very scientific, but uuhhh.....
we could plant more trees !
Wasnt that easy ?
Only problem is that the human race are consumor whores, and we use paper
like no tommorow. Any other suggestions to fix the mistakes we made ?
Tree planting as a solution to global warming is a bit more complicated than that. To maximize carbon scrubbing forests need to be managed and
harvested at the proper time. Unmanaged, unharvested old growth store large quantities of carbon, but do not remove any additional carbon from the
atmosphere. By definition, old growth forests are carbon neutral (growth = decay) and in late senescence, old growth forests are net carbon producers
(decay > growth). There are many reasons to preserve old growth forests -- biodiversity, spiritual, recreational, etc. Global warming is not one of
them.
Currently, about 40% of the paper produced in the U.S. is recycled. Investments in research and technology may raise that to about 60% and no one
seriously expects more than that upper limit. Paper fibers have a lifespan, only so many times they can be recycled, and there are some uses for
which recycled paper does not work. Other plant fibers may reduce the need for wood pulp (hemp, kenaf, flax, etc) but they will not completely
eliminate the need for wood pulp. They will be only a small portion of our fiber use at best. Large scale commercial production of those fibers will
produce their own set of environmental problems too.
Forget that old urban legend about the timber industry (or petrochemical industry, depending on which version you prefer) getting hemp banned. That
is nothing but false propaganda from the environmental and illegal drug industries. In reality, the American Paper and Pulp Association (a trade
group) are the biggest funding source of recycling and alternative fiber research.