On the recordApril 25, 2013
Across this country, we are seeing the ruinous effects of climate change, from more powerful storms in the East, to persistent drought and catastrophic wildfires in the West. We are not powerless in the face of this threat. We know what we have to do: slow our emissions of greenhouse gases, deploy clean energy solutions. But we also must do another thing. We must manage our forest lands to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Healthy forests can actually help remove carbon dioxide from the environment, from the atmosphere. We sometimes hear about technologies that, in the future, may be able to do this, may be able to capture and store carbon dioxide; but we have natural infrastructure that can do it right now. And a great example of that is from my own district in California, the Pacific Forest Trust. They've been working for over 20 years with landowners, as well as local, State and Federal officials, to conserve and manage forests to capture carbon. Their work with forest conservation easements is paying off for wildlife, for landowners, and also for our climate. Their Van Eck forest in Humboldt County was the first forest emissions reduction project registered under California's climate change law. ____________________
