sustainable forestry

Canadians think of forests as “the lungs of the earth” or “natural air purifiers.” They understand that forests provide life-giving oxygen. They may not be familiar with the corollary benefit of sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, but they appreciate that having large areas of healthy forests helps balance the web of life and maintain a stable climate.

How is it then that governments, industry and even some academic think tanks believe that climate change will be helped in the short term by cutting down forests, turning them into wood chips, shipping them hundreds of kilometres, and burning them to make electricity?