Wayne Brandt: Actually: Use a tree, save a planet

Carbon dioxide remains in the wood, and new trees are planted abundantly.

By WAYNE BRANDT

Last update: August 1, 2009 - 10:33 PM

Harry Rosenfeld did Star Tribune readers a disservice in his recent commentary about the role trees play in global warming ("Save a tree, save a planet," July 25), because he neglected to report the positive impacts of trees and forest products in combating climate change.

Rosenfeld, of the Albany (N.Y.) Times Union, wrote that "cutting down trees results in the release of stored carbon in the form of carbon dioxide, which impacts dangerous climate change" and that "planting trees is valuable for many reasons, but it does not do the number on carbon dioxide that old-growth forests do."

Both statements are simply not true.

In reality, when trees are harvested, they continue to retain the carbon dioxide they held when they were growing. And when those harvested trees are made into paper, 2x4s, oriented strand board, furniture and hundreds of other products we all depend on, that carbon dioxide continues to be stored -- for decades and even centuries.

The wood table at which you may now be sitting to read this article, surrounded by the wood that's framing your home, are all storing carbon dioxide. And they'll continue storing it for the life of the table and house.

(In fairness to Rosenfeld, carbon is indeed released into the air when overly mature trees decay and die, or when they're burned in forest fires. But not when trees are made into useful forest products.)

Rosenfeld's second point -- that older trees are better for absorbing carbon dioxide than are younger trees -- is also incorrect. Young trees, because they have a faster growth rate and higher overall "metabolism" than old trees, soak up and store carbon quickly. As these young trees age and get filled up with carbon, they continue to absorb and store carbon, but at a slower rate.

That's a message with which tens of thousands of visitors to the Minnesota State Fair are familiar. For years at the Minnesota Forest Industries (MFI) booth in the Education Building, we've handed out free seedlings identified as "carbon sponges" to remind people that trees act like millions of sponges in soaking up carbon. (We also give away real sponges with the message, "Trees absorb carbon. Forest products store it." We invite you to stop by next month to pick up your own.)

MFI's members, composed of the state's forest products companies in an industry that employs more than 36,000, were early leaders in Minnesota's efforts to inform the public of the importance of trees and forest products in fighting global warming. And we continue with these and other efforts, despite the challenges posed by those who disseminate incorrect information.

In fact, the whole state is a national leader when it comes to the importance of caring for our forests and residents. Minnesota is the largest public land manager in the United States to certify its lands under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Program, a comprehensive system of objectives and performance measures that guides responsible forest management. There are more than 7.1 million acres in Minnesota certified under the SFI program.

According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, each year one tree can remove 50 pounds of carbon from the air. That's great news in a state in which more than 15 million seedlings are planted annually and where millions of other trees are grown from seeds or regenerated naturally.

It's also great news that when wood is harvested in Minnesota to make forest products, more than twice as much wood is grown. Once again, providing more and more carbon sponges for absorbing carbon and releasing pure oxygen into the air.

You can check all these statistics with the U.S. Forest Service, the Minnesota DNR, the Minnesota Forest Resources Council and many others. The facts are there: Trees absorb carbon, and forest products store it.

Wayne Brandt is executive vice president of Minnesota Forest Industries.

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