Biorhythms-Edition three-Our forests and how you can be the solution

Great post Jan, as usual!

Green roofing!!!

Saving trees would be alot easier if industrial hemp were legalized.

I have observed--and I'm not alone--that just about everything the government is tasked with "managing" is being managed to death. Maybe we should turn over our federal land to the original owners before they disappear beneath access roads, parking lots, shopping malls, hotels and cement and dirt covered campsites with trees cut down to preserve The View (eg., Yosemite). The idea that everyone should have access to these places is understandable but ultimately destructive. People have a right to go to these places but only if they are willing to accept them as they are and required to leave them that way--and that includes the government who should be in charge of enforcement and protection, not development.

The forest is a watershed,remove it,and rains flow off unrestrained,and cause flooding.In the West when the "science" of" modern forest management"was introduced,it silted salmon spawning stream beds,ending natural salmon runs.It was a moral crime,as many monied interests are.Sadly in the 21 years I have been living on the edge of the Sierras,the environmentally bankrupt practices of clear cutting has ended the magnificence of the Sierras.Now most of it are clear cut,as in the Pacific Northwest,the effects are the same,more flooding in heavy rainfalls erosion,sedimentation.This is not better management as SPI and the US Forest Service said it would be.We knew from the devastation of our neighbors north of us,that this would happen,but the pressure put on the managers,was extreme,they relented,and sustainable forest management with large mature trees left in the forest was gone. Now a mono crop of one species,and use of herbicides to kill the "undesirables" and their side effects of killing diverse ecosystems in the soil surface and below are documented.Our forests are damaged,denuded,and threatened from the greed of the wood products industry.It is a moral crime,an esthetic travesty . The spirituality of the forest scape is diminished.We are also as the caretakers.

That was beautiful, Jan!
Best one yet.
I especially enjoyed you standing in (not in front of) those magnificent trees to deliver your heartfelt message.
I'd like to echo that trees are part of the water cycle as they not only release chemicals which create rain but also attract rainclouds. I've noticed that heavily forested areas usually receive a gentler rain while deforested areas usually get downpours that further erode the soil. I will never forget a photo in Wilderness magazine showing the Dingo fence in Australia -- one side was heavily forested with heavy cloud cover and the other side was planted in some monocrop with not a cloud in the sky.
Evapotranspiration is the key to slowing down global warming.
It has been estimated by scientists and environmentalists that it would require planting a TRILLION fast growing trees to sequester the amount of carbon we humans spew but that figure increases with population growth, deforestation and development.
China has been planting billions of trees to fight not only climate change but also drought, erosion and desertification.
Africa and South America are also inspiring stories!
But here in North America most still seem to believe that praying is all we need to do.
It is encouraging to see Americans put their money where their mouth is.
Keep up the great work!

http://www.wild.org/blog/resolutions-2-protecting-old-growth-forests-for-climate...

Old growth forests must be protected globally to preserve our climate balance and the lands and livelihoods of indigenous people.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/plant-america.html

This was my initiative for anyone interested.

"Trees provide a service to the life of all species on Earth. They are considered the lungs of our planet, and to some scientists now its heart as well. By continuing the rapacious rate of deforestation we are now sustaining globally we are contributing not only to the destruction of the natural beauty of our only home, but the exacerbation of CO2 levels that are contributing to the following effects of climate change that can be brought down to an acceptable level through the proper remediation process of providing carbon sinks:

1. Glacier melt causing floods, mudslides, and what is now considered a dangerous effect on water supplies for billions of people who depend on those glaciers for sustenance. Also, destruction of the Arctic ice caps at a rate three times faster than scientifically predicted by the IPCC which act as the mirror and climate balance of our planet. Without this mirror to reflect the rays of the sun we are risking passing what scientists call a "tipping point" of runaway climate change which will have catastrophic effects on this planet and our relationship to it.

2. Sea level rise due to melting ice caps and oversaturation of CO2 in our oceans. Forty eight islands have already seen the effects of sea level rise regarding destroying their homes, their traditions, and their ability to live. Many of these low lying islands are located in the Pacific and are only the first wave of islands and states to feel these effects. Scientists predict that within fifty years the Northeast coast of the United States may also be feeling these same effects due to sea level rise. If we do not curtail the rate of emissions of CO2 in our atmosphere to an acceptable level (350 PPM-450 PPM) we risk putting millions of people in danger of experiencing the same fate. Hundreds of millions of climate refugees would be catastrophic and cause the breakdown of society as we know it.

3. Wildfires due not only in part to normal conditions we see in certain areas yearly, but now more pervasive and destructive wildfires brought on by excessive drought. Scientists now predict that wildfires will become more intense and destructive as the world warms, which will then contribute to the greenhouse gases and lack of carbon sinks that precipitate climate change.

These factors along with other factors such as species invasion, species extinction, change in rainfall patterns which affect agriculture and food production, and evaporation of soil moisture and lower water tables in many rivers around the world must now lead us to formulating solutions that are timely, simple, economically viable, and that can improve the climate balance of our planet as well as provide much needed nutrients for our soil, water, food, sustenance, shelter, and a way to fight deforestation."

more at the link.