Want to Offset Carbon? Try Planting a Tree

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

Avoided deforestation (AD) is the most popular choice when companies choose forestry projects for carbon offsets. AD was the most popular choice with 91% of respondents to the survey, although reforestation with native tree species came in a close second with 89%.

The survey, ‘Forest Carbon Offsetting Survey 2009‘, was published in mid-April by EcoSecurities and other contributors.

On this Earth Day 2009, we believe this high level of support is important, because trees and forests represent climate change opportunity at the most meaningful, personal level, the individual.

While carbon offsets can be tough to conceptualize, and measuring carbon footprints seem theoretical, nothing beats digging a hole and planting a tree to engender plenty of feel-good emotions. As children, we learn that trees take carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, so the simple activity of planting a tree provides a tangible benefit immediately which “sustains” us for years to come as we watch it grow.

You never forget planting tree. For example, have you ever returned to a house you sold years ago, and your first comment is, “Look how big the tree has grown! I remember when we planted it, and it was only a foot tall.” Trees have permanence; you count how many years the tree has been living. Trees are personal; it’s a special bond between you and the tree, as if your name is on it that no one else sees but you. And you feel compelled to tell others about your bond with that tree.

Did you plant a tree on Earth (or Arbor) Day this year, or before, and receive these benefits in return?

photo credit:  Environmental Council of Sacramento

Posted in Carbon Offsets, Forestation | No Comments »

Black Liquor Bungling

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

I’ll refrain from a strong temptation to weave several amusing references to the term “black liquor” and simply state that my preference in liquor tends more toward a golden color. Let’s define what it is and why it is important.

Black liquor is a byproduct of the papermaking process.

Black Liquor

Pulp mills use caustic chemicals to boil wood which separates pulp from combustible chemicals in the wood. What is left after the pulp is removed is called black liquor, which is then refined and burned as an energy source in the mill. Nothing new about it; been going on for decades.

What IS new is that the US taxpayer is now subsidizing it through a loophole in the 2005 Highway Bill which was intended to encourage the use of alternative fuels in cars and trucks by crediting the excise tax when a taxpayer blended at least 0.1% of a taxable fuel (kerosene, diesel or gasoline) with the qualified alternative fuel.

This credit never applied to the paper industry, until the powerful paper lobby managed to get it applied to them in December 2007. What was estimated to be a $61 million cost to taxpayers could balloon to $10 BILLION according to Kevin Mason of Equity Research Associates. Just as maddening, mills must blend fossil fuels with the black liquor to be eligible for the credit.

Understandably, Canadian mills are crying foul, because the credit changes the economics of production, with the potential to cover perhaps 60% of pulp production costs.

We’ll leave those points to be debated by others, while focusing on this related issue:

This legislation is environmentally bankrupt. It discourages recycling.

Recycled corrugated is mechanically pulped and does not create the black liquor byproduct. The tax credit changes the economics of pulp production in favor of virgin pulp over recycled pulp.

The result: more trees cut down (aka carbon dioxide gatherers) more energy used, and more pollution created. This is going in the WRONG direction.

At least two U.S. containerboard mills recently switched from recycled corrugated to wood chips as their fiber source (source: Dead Tree Edition), with more on the way.

Commodity prices for recycled paper have crashed during the past year, (discussed in a previous blog “Freefalling Recycled Paper Prices“) raising fears that environmentally friendly practices driven by economics may falter. Ill conceived tax policy only adds (alternative) fuel to that fire.

Sound off about the environmental effect, or the other ramifications of this law by posting a comment below.

Tags: Carbon Sequestration, environment, green movement, paper recycling
Posted in Business | 1 Comment »