UKTC Archive

Re: Carbon Sinks

Subject: Re: Carbon Sinks
From: Jerry Ross
Date: Nov 23 2000 18:15:01 
Carbon sequestration is a nice idea but of extremely questionable value: See 
Gerald Dawe's very pertinent observations on the use of the sequestration 
argument by vested interests (such as the American utility companies) in his 
review of "Carbon Dioxide Mitigation in Forestry & Wood Industry" in the 
Arboricultural Journal vol.24 no1, pp 77-79. 
Some bits of research that he quotes:
 "...58-65% of the total carbon 'input' or 'sequestered' in an urban context, 
on an annual basis, was released back to the atmosphere as a result of 
landscape maintenance and pruning..." 
"...the total of 145,800 tonnes of carbon estimated to be stored in the city 
of Oakland's (California) trees would be equivalent to ... the amount emitted 
by Oakland residents' automobiles as CO2 in approximately 8 months."   
"...in the long term, carbon is more securely stored in oil, gas and coal 
deposits than in forests"
And a nice quote from Oliver Rackham: "(Carbon sequestration) is rather like 
exhorting the public to drink more water in order to hold down rising sea 
levels".

Plant trees, certainly, and if using the sequestration argument helps to 
achieve that wholly admirable end, well fine. But reducing CO2 emissions will 
be achieved only when society ceases to revolve around the internal 
combustion engine, and world economics ceases to be controlled by the 
petrochemical industry. 
So that'll be next week then.

(copy to John Prescott)

Jerry Ross
Carbon sequestration is a nice idea but of extremely questionable value: See Gerald Dawe's very pertinent observations on the use of the sequestration argument by vested interests (such as the American utility companies) in his review of "Carbon Dioxide Mitigation in Forestry & Wood Industry" in the Arboricultural Journal vol.24 no1, pp 77-79.
Some bits of research that he quotes:
 "...58-65% of the total carbon 'input' or 'sequestered' in an urban context, on an annual basis, was released back to the atmosphere as a result of landscape maintenance and pruning..."
"...the total of 145,800 tonnes of carbon estimated to be stored in the city of Oakland's (California) trees would be equivalent to ... the amount emitted by Oakland residents' automobiles as CO2 in approximately 8 months."   
"...in the long term, carbon is more securely stored in oil, gas and coal deposits than in forests"
And a nice quote from Oliver Rackham: "(Carbon sequestration) is rather like exhorting the public to drink more water in order to hold down rising sea levels".
 
Plant trees, certainly, and if using the sequestration argument helps to achieve that wholly admirable end, well fine. But reducing CO2 emissions will be achieved only when society ceases to revolve around the internal combustion engine, and world economics ceases to be controlled by the petrochemical industry.
So that'll be next week then.
 
(copy to John Prescott)
 
Jerry Ross
 
 
 
 
 


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