In my previous thread, I extolled the virtues of a consumer product over its peers because it takes an approach which is broad and comprehensive yet focused.

That’s what we need in order to reverse the climate crisis. While there are multiple carbon-reducing avenues we can and must pursue, reforestation consistently tops my list because it produces ancillary benefits for environmental tourism, avalanche and flood prevention and habitat for wildlife, especially endangered species.

With that in mind, you may have wondered why government programs don’t help and encourage taxpayers to do more in order to replant our forests.

I have pondered that point many times and am delighted to report that now, individuals can!

The Carbon Capital Fund allows us hasten the rate of reforestation in the US through an intriguing private-public partnership.

I urge you to visit the new website at http://www.carboncapitalfund.org and learn how you can do your part not only to reduce levels of carbon in the atmosphere but foster the expansion of America’s national forests.

This program truly is yet another win-win-win!

Sustainable Justice For All!

Corbett Kroehler
 

If I said “ozone layer,” it would be perfectly normal if your reply were, “I thought that we fixed that in the 1980’s.” The fact is, repair work on the ozone layer high in the atmosphere is progressing at a tolerable pace because of the (mostly) global ban on nasty substances known as CFCs.

No, when I refer to the ozone layer now, I regard urban haze and its effects both on natural vistas, such as at Grand Canyon National Park, and the way in which plants (especially prairie grasses and trees) consume the byproducts of the carbon we exhale 72 times per minute and convert it to the oxygen which all animals need in order to survive.

I call this exchange process the carbon dioxide oxygen cycle. It is one of the building blocks of mammalian life on Earth, meaning human life. In short, without it, we become the dinosaurs of the Holocene Age.

Huh?

Forests are vital to the planet’s ability to process carbon, sequestering it, but, more commonly and importantly, converting it to oxygen for us to breathe. Healthy, old-growth forests clean more carbon from the atmosphere than arithmetic (and a count of the area covered) would lead one to conclude because of symbiosis.

Central Florida suffers from urban sprawl to an extent which rivals the nation’s oldest cities. At our current pace, soon we we’ll have not just suburbs next to suburbs but exurbs, where residential areas ringing cities become so large and traffic so bad that new city centers are born. Indeed, the Interstate 4 corridor between Orlando and Tampa is growing so fast that it is known by some as “Orlampa.”

“There he goes again!”

I’m sure you are tempted to react to the title of this thread that way. I don’t blame you. After all, would average web surfers think twice about the potential connection between the numbers of trees in urban areas and pediatrics?

Please bear with me, though, because this linkage is crucially important.

As the world becomes more and more industrialized and we westerners ever more acclimated to city living, the importance of urban forest value rises in proportion.

What do I really mean?

As we close out one of the hottest and deadliest summer seasons ever in the northern hemisphere, we find new questions arising about the role which green tags, also called carbon offsets or carbon credits, can play in reversing the global climate crisis.

At the same time, we find that local cineplexes are showing not one but two films about life in our planet’s polar regions and the impact which global warming has on wildlife, “A Polar Tale” and “11th Hour”.

Since I have advocated that offsets can play a crucial role in a blended approach to conservation, this seems an ideal juncture to offer my carbon credit definition. Specifically, do I define such credits are good, good over the short term or bad?

Earlier this month, Jim Griffin of Global Green Alliance and I began in earnest our promotion of the Green Earth Expo coming up in May of 2008 here in Orlando, Florida. The response so far has been decidedly positive. My favorite part has been hearing Jim Griffin discuss his inspiration for creating the Expo. His answer always begins with the issue of reforestation in the US. I love that! It’s one of my top priorities.

For Jim, having worked as a carpentry specialist for many years, the tremendous waste of trees used in construction was very disturbing. He is right, of course. It’s a big problem which the building and trade industries have begun to address. They need to do much more and I look forward to working with them on the issue.

Over the last 3 years, I have attended multiple energy expos, presenting or speaking at 3. The first time, I was nervous, to say the least, but I got through it and now I’m an old hand at it. I am the exception, though, and I know it.

Jim Griffin is the creator of the Green Earth Expo and the founder of Global Green Alliance. He got his start in trade shows and that’s where this amazing story begins. After working in that field for about 20 years, he moved home to Central Florida and took up work as a carpenter specializing in high-end custom interiors. In that work, he noticed piles of debris wood which littered construction sites. This worried him, as well it should have.

Although I have lived in Florida for almost 2 decades, I spent my formative years in New England, including 3 years in Central Vermont. If you have not visited the state capital of Montpelier during leaf-peeping season, you owe it to yourself to do so in 2008!

Anyway, my years in New England gave me a love for birch, fir and spruce forests. In fact, when I moved to Florida and saw only palms for months on end, I felt like nothing would replace my love for forests of pine and spruce trees. In fact, the first time I saw a stand of native pine trees in Florida, the long leaf pine, I thought that they were the oddest pines I had seen.

Now that I have spent many years away from the Great Northern Forest, I have adjusted and find the long leaf pine of my new home, the Southeast, a simply wonderful tree.

In some parts of the world, the Christmas season only now is in full swing. At Chez Kroehler, the gifts under the sustainable Christmas tree were unwrapped before Catrin and I were tucked snug in our bed on Christmas Eve and the decorations all were stowed before we opened the egg nog on December 31st.

I wish to begin the new year with an examination of a very important issue and statement of my formal position on the topic of working forests and sustainable commercial forestry. There is no lack of controversy on these marks but achieving consensus is vital if we are to embrace the full panoply of ways to stop global warming with the zeal they deserve.

One firm intimately involved in commercial forestry is Weyerhaeuser. I will make few friends in the inner circle of the environmental community by stating this but Weyerhaeuser must be treated as an ally if we are to progress toward a truly sustainable and environmentally just future. Indeed, Weyerhaeuser reforestation projects are the first aspect of the larger issue of working forests which I would like to engage.

Before I do so, however, I ask that you indulge me in a brief, interrogatory digression:

Was your 2007 Christmas tree paper or plastic?

In my previous post, I assigned a brief online quiz about forestry. Did you take it?

If not, here is the URL once again:

http://www.abundantforests.org/eiq_quiz.html

The first of seven lessons taught by this important online tool is that natural Christmas trees are replaced with saplings when they are harvested. Oftentimes, this is the case. Why is it, then, that pictures of reforestation projects seldom include Christmas trees? How should the answer affect one's decision to buy a natural or plastic tree next Christmas?

If you plan to purchase an artificial tree and store it for repeated use for at least ten years, the environmental impact works out about the same when compared with a natural tree harvested from a sustainable forest which is recycled (made into mulch and other forest products) when you are done with it.

If you purchased a real tree this holiday season and haven't discarded it yet, consider recycling it.

For a list of treecycling services in the United States, visit

Huh? Corbett is off his rocker! He took us from extensive coverage of Christmas trees to desert flowers!

I don’t blame you for questioning my judgment. However, there is a vital core theme here (and method to my madness). As we cover reforestation in great detail in the new year, it is imperative that we understand the central and multiple roles which trees play. So, let’s begin with the general and work toward the specific. The Christmas tree theme was intended in part to prompt you to think about coniferous forest animals, thus allowing me to make a sharp u-turn for a moment.

Here we go.

Everything about healthy stands of trees is about symbiosis, the productive interaction between living things. Hence, even though we think of deserts as barren, lifeless voids, they are, in fact, very much alive. Given the great lack of rainfall in deserts, plants and animals must depend on each other for their very existence.

So, as we explore symbiotic relationships in desert species, we can point to the fact that large animals soften the hard soil with their hoofs, thus providing habitat for smaller creatures. Likewise, air plants which take moisture directly from the air, like the pineapple, offer food even though there may be no rain for months. In short, in the desert, it’s all for one and one for all.

One of the lessons of the E-IQ quiz which I assigned last week is that America’s forests are larger than in recent years. In all candor, that fact is in dispute. What is not in dispute, however, is that the commercial forestry industry does a far better job today of replanting than in any recent decades. Why? Part of the reason is that the general public has demanded the industry’s support in reversing air pollution and causes of global warming.

In the undated photo above, we see that the air between the forest and the snowy mountaintops is fairly clean. Sadly, such is not the case everywhere and while I concur that the forest products industry has cleaned up its act in the United States to a measurable extent, other places around the world continue to suffer from clear cutting and widespread deforestation at historic rates. Humanity must look past territorial boundaries and engage in wide reforestation efforts.

Last year, I wrote about how Florida’s Showcase Green Envirohome was born of family tragedy and natural disaster to become the world’s greenest and most hurricane-resistant home. Parts of that series were syndicated throughout the blogosphere because of the human tale it tells. In no way do I wish to grandstand on profound loss but human history is chock full of examples of how people turned lemons into lemonade and charted a new course for the future.

Right now, as you read this, residents of California are doing just that. So, even as the toll from recent forest fires there is tallied, it is time to spend at least part of the time pondering the ecological response. We need to rebuild businesses and homes which were destroyed, as well as many lives, but also restore the area’s natural beauty. So, I advocate that California forest fire updates henceforth take into account reforestation efforts whenever possible.

One organization with a proven track record of replanting fire-damaged areas is American Forests. The folks there are the real deal. That’s why Jim Griffin, the man with whom I created the Green Earth Expo, selected American Forests as the organization to plant trees from Expo proceeds to help offset the week-long event’s carbon footprint.

Last week, I told you about the need to shift some of our attention toward reforestation projects in California now that recovery from the devastating series of brush, forest and wild fires has begun. This moment also presents an excellent opportunity to explore the practicality of green building vs. traditional building in California and elsewhere.

The conversations I have had with builders and people engaged in the green building movement have led to a single answer to the question of practicality: done wisely, the price differential of green building vs. traditional building need be only about 10%. Of course, that statistic only indicates raw construction cost and in no way reflects the immediate savings in energy expenses which will result as soon as occupancy begins.

If the difference in cost of green building vs. traditional building is so narrow, why has it not become more prevalent? The reasons are varied. Some development companies claim that their customers seldom ask about green building practices and options. In other places, there is a lack of experienced civil engineers who can guide the process of building structures to green standards such as L.E.E.D.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a biome as “A major ecological community type (as tropical rain forest, grassland, or desert).” That definition is good but omits a key implied detail: “under the climatic conditions of the region.” I am no lexicographer so I will not argue with the esteemed authors of that dictionary but my point is important.

As we acquire a greater understanding of the impacts on wildlife of commercial forestry and reforestation projects which seek to mitigate the effects, we must take into account scientific research in unspoiled areas. Simply put, some animal species have generational memories which span decades and can be lost easily.

As I explained in a recent posting here, about 40% of the energy used in the United States is for buildings and homes constitute a large portion of that. Since everyone needs a place to live and since one indication of a person’s socioeconomic status is the site of one’s dwelling, the aforementioned statistic should come as little surprise.

If we want to do something about wasted energy, we must approach the problem from every angle, including residential construction, including educating the public, mandating green building standards in new structures and encouraging the application of strict efficiency standards in remodeling projects.

That’s a tall order to fill. Fortunately, there are excellent websites such as www.HomeEnergy.org which provide us with oodles of material. In fact, so much good material can be found there that the site is worthy of use in any living green curriculum for classroom instruction. Likewise, for those of who no longer attend school but wish to go green in a house design or remodeling project, it is a superb place to go.

In the quest to stop global warming, we all need to give a little. In recent posts, I have covered the importance of embracing commercial forestry operations which are sustainable because our need for wood products will not stop just because we have wrecked our atmosphere. Some of my allies in the environmental movement disagree with my stance. I understand their position.

Another group which may object to this thread is beach enthusiasts. You see, wind power is an important component in the blended approach which we need to take toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and, as a result, preserving our coast line from rising seas. However, no one solution works everywhere, wind power included. Hence, everyone must compromise a bit.

Arborists and those who cherish trees above all else in nature must come to understand that working forests can protect wildlife, help clean our air and provide wood at the same time, if done sustainably. A similar position is required of people who would like to see our coast line kept free from development.

I just returned from an amazing experience. My good friend Adam Nehr helped me arrange a behind-the-scenes tour of the Kennedy Space Center, the main NASA facility in Central Florida. I had a blast! I had the opportunity to stand directly under a Space Shuttle for several minutes and watch it be prepared for orbital flight! I did many other wonderful things, too.

As something of a space nut, I knew that my NASA escort would provide all sorts of interesting details. I also knew that when the Kennedy Space Center was created, tens of thousands of acres of pristine natural habitat were placed in permanent preservation so that NASA workers could labor on the space program without encroachment from the surrounding community.

What I didn’t know is that habitat preservation is a very big deal at the Kenney Space Center. Impressive! The scrub jay is an imperiled species in Florida and habitat preservation is one of the best things we can do to help these precious creatures. It turns out that NASA and its sister agencies which manage Kennedy Space Center spend big bucks preserving and restoring scrub habitat throughout the facility. This is very good news.

Residents of the Western world such as this author rail against needlessly wasteful forest practices as a significant inhibitor to reforestation. Our argument is valid. However, the air we breathe is blind to territorial borders, as are cyclones, forest fires and hurricanes. In short, if we wish to save ourselves from the worst effects of global warming, we need to take a global perspective on reforestation.

Poverty around the world, including fuel poverty, whether in cities or rural areas, is a big problem not just for the moral fabric of society but for environmental protection. What’s more, many of the regions with the most at-risk species of wildlife are desperately poor, with the average resident earning less than $2.00 per day.

Such regions also are fraught with civil war, coup d’etat activity and rebellion. Arguably the worst side effect of these conflicts between people is the fact that aid workers cannot do their job because of the danger – including the management of reforestation projects.

Since my previous column covered the role of plastic shopping bags in supermarkets, today’s installment may seem a departure. Trust me, my friend. The two issues are related. If we ever hope to succeed in jump starting reforestation projects around the world in order to return our biome to its pre-industrialization state, we must address the question of reforestation in conflict zones.

Since my earliest days as an expert here on Keyboard Culture, I have focused on the need for reducing our emissions of greenhouse gases and carbon as much as possible, through any practical means necessary. One of the most important ways is through carbon offsets, also known as renewable energy credits.

I gave you a list of the 3 carbon offset websites which Catrin and I use as well as the reason for our favoring them. Our opinion of those wonderful sites (Krystal Planet, NWF Wind Current and TerraPass) has not changed. However, I have discovered a charitable website which gives you the opportunity of seeing multiple ways to stop global warming all on a single page. The URL is

http://www.changingthepresent.org/global_warming/gifts

Why is this charitable website important?

As the New York of the South, Atlanta is the economic and social anchor of its region, home to the world’s busiest airport, among other key distinctions such as the horrific Atlanta tornado of mid-March 2008. As reconstruction progresses and grieving families mourn the fallen, it is important that we learn from what nature taught us during that fateful week.

The death toll and collateral damage, of course, are the source of greatest shock from the horrible Atlanta tornado and related storms but the fact that they occurred in a dense urban area is a close third on the list of frightening aspects. Why was Atlanta hit so hard? The lack of good windbreak trees is a big reason but more on that in a moment.

Global warming expands the zones where killer storms such as hurricanes (and the Atlanta tornado) form. If you have followed my blog here on Keyboard Culture for some time, then you know that the solutions which we embrace to combat global warming must include the planting of millions of trees. If we do that in a concerted way, we will be on the right track.

There is a large ancillary benefit to doing so, however. Good windbreak trees help reduce the occurrence of killer storms and if Georgia still had its vast, historic forest canopy, there is a good chance that the Atlanta tornado would have dissipated faster and, not coincidentally, the Atlanta region would not be in the deep drought which currently afflicts it (a separate topic best left for a future post here on KBC).

Trees perform many, many important jobs in our environment. Windbreak trees are among the most important because they do the same job as others but add the benefit of regulating wind speed.

In early April, the 2008 weather effect known as La Niña faded suddenly and more than expected. This has brought much-needed rainfall to a parched nation. However, the drought in Georgia, USA remains a profound crisis which even prolonged torrential rains only will begin to address. What’s to be done? We can’t just raze millions of structures and replant the forests which used to occupy that territory but we can engage in something almost as good and Delta Airlines is helping to lead the effort.

With its Force For Global Good initiative, Delta Airlines not only has embraced international corporate social responsibility but taken a very forward position, much like General Electric has with its Ecomagination program. Well done, folks!

On February 11, 2008, carbon economist Johannes Ebeling and scientist Maï Yasué published a landmark study entitled Generating carbon finance through avoided deforestation and its potential to create climatic, conservation and human development benefits. The title is long but the Journals of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom saw fit not only to assist these great minds in publishing their work but in aiding its promotion as well.

I bring it to your attention because this magnificent work combines the economic and environmental consequences not just of deforestation but reforestation and then adds yet another layer, the somewhat newer concept of avoided deforestation in the valuation of carbon credits.

Whew! I know. I am delving much deeper into economics and hard science than I usually do. Hang with me, dear reader. One of the very first topics I covered when this blog went live was my carbon credit definition, a vital concept which relates to how we reverse global warming without shuttering the world’s economy. In the succeeding months, I covered reforestation extensively. I only have touched on rational carbon management, though, and now is the time to report on all of it.

During the month of April, I painted a financial picture for you, one in which the unified earth theory can be applied in the United States and elsewhere through adherence of the triple bottom line of sustainability. These crucial principles can help us respond to global warming better and faster than simply taking a step-by-step approach. However, there’s another benefit which we must consider. It has an environmental and humanitarian aspect.

You see, indigenous populations in the tropical rain forest, such as in South America, suffer greater and greater encroachment from city dwellers and farmers every year. This is caused by economic mismanagement on the part of local and state government but also pressure from industrialized nations to continue providing cheap imported goods while ignoring the principles of sustainability.

T.E.D., which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, began in 1984 as an annual conference. Now owned by The Sapling Foundation, TED is the preeminent gathering for thought leaders from around the world and amplified by the power of the Internet. Host to weekly talks, the TED.com website is a wonderful hub of information.

Back in February, a TED video was posted which gives us the latest news on Al Gore and an important update on the facts and predictions offered in Mr. Gore’s Oscar-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth. It is a 30-minute update which everyone who breathes needs to see. It is truly superb and the Lake Lanier drought pics alone will open your eyes.

If you’ve spent any amount of time reading my thoughts here on Keyboard Culture, then you know that I fit the textbook definition of tree hugger. However, you don’t have to be like me, or believe in global warming for that matter, to become part of the solution. Why? Because, as you will read in this top 7 list, the steps we need to take to reverse the climate crisis have ancillary benefits.

So, way 1 of 7 is to take up a cause. How do you live day to day? When you open your eyes in the morning, do you ponder the fact that tens of thousands of people and several endangered species of wildlife will die before you next sleep? Does the connection between people and our environment even cross your mind?

Well, I don’t want to preach so let me just tell you this: modern technology only protects us to a certain extent. We need each other and a healthy environment in order for civilization to survive the growing climate crisis. Period.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be Al Gore in order to do your part. The best way to begin is to choose a cause. For example: automotive tailpipe emissions cause global warming but they also cause emphysema and lung cancer, two maladies not directly related to global warming. It’s reasonable to hope that you’d like to see fewer people die from lung disease, right?

I began this top 7 list series with an exhortation to choose a cause and apply it in your life. Since there are so very many humanitarian causes which are aided by the fight against global warming and its impacts, you really can’t go wrong in your selection, whether you believe in the science of global warming or not.

So, if my previous posts have driven you to choose a cause, great! Now, get on with it! Get going! If you haven’t chosen a cause, I will take an even stronger swing at you, citing a very specific example of an initiative which makes tree huggers like me smile and has very real humanitarian benefits.

When I’m done, you’ll see how wonderful it is and feel a bit intimidated, I hope, because with schools working to go green by aiding reforestation projects in conflict zones and with you sitting on the sidelines, the need for swift action should propel you off the couch.

"Plant communities are vital to climate system regulation but, surprisingly, these communities, especially the world’s forests, are the single largest source of uncertainty in climate models because so little is known about their biological processes across individual-to-global scales.”

- Dr. Stephen Emmott

European Science Initiative

As I pass my first anniversary as a founding expert here at Keyboard Culture, I take pride in many things.

• I have a growing audience which consists of more than 7,500 unique visitors per month.

• I narrate each and every thread, giving you, the reader, my most valuable asset, the opportunity to hear my thoughts as I utter them.

• Organizations which I have covered in my thrice-weekly posts have built upon their pattern of success to achieve greater things.

The Nature Conservancy is a splendid example. A global leader in offering solutions to deforestation, the Nature Conservancy has launched an intrepid billion tree campaign aimed at protecting populations in the tropical rain forest of Brazil and global forest dynamics, a woefully under explored field within botany, climatology and silviculture.

Since the beginning of industrialization, the planet has lost about 9 billion trees, many of them in Brazil. Although deforestation of tropical rain forest habitat is rampant in every corner of the world, the devastation in Brazil is arguably the saddest and most grievous. For a sampling of the pain, I recommend that you listen to Inutil Paisagem by Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Last time, I told you about the commendable gains made in the promotion of the SIGG aluminum water bottle by StopGlobalWarming.org It’s a wonderful product but perhaps impractical for your situation. What are your alternatives?

You may have heard about Brazilian Springs water, which claims to be the first and only eco-friendly bottled water in the world. Is that possible? It’s a question of degree. First the good news...

Brazilian Springs Water as a firm created a foundation and then partnered with Fundaçâo de Preservaçâo da Floresta Amazônica, FundAmazon for short, to protect sensitive lands which have been cleared (or are under threat of clearing) plus engage in broad reforestation along Brazil’s Atlantic coast. A portion of the revenue from the sale of the bottled water, which comes from Arkansas, is directed into the foundation to go toward saving the Amazon rainforest.

The goal is sound. The urgency is great and the need for international involvement cannot be overstated. Two thumbs up for creativity and mission!

Now, the bad news – the water is bottled in only one place yet available in many. In other words, the product must be shipped, a carbon-intensive practice. Of equal damage is the fact that the water is packaged in PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, which, while recyclable, is a carbon-intense material which usually winds up in landfills.

During my first few weeks as a founding expert here at Keyboard Culture, I wrote that the quest to go green in the consumer marketplace (and thus score an important victory in the battle against global warming) necessitates  two key steps:

1) Enabling consumers to create their own demand for green products and services; and

2) Making the effort cultural

Simply stated, the environmental community faces something of a chicken-and-egg scenario in going green but market leaders such as Citibank are helping advance the dialog through broad efforts such as paperless initiatives. Operating in a manner which encourages customers and vendors to obtain their account statements exclusively over the Internet and pay their bills in the same manner, we can chip away at entrenched practices.

I am somewhat embarrassed to share that despite my passion for environmental causes, I resisted paperless statements from Citibank and other financial providers for many years. Because I also work in the information technology field, I had just as many technical reasons as I did emotional ones but it wasn’t until I had been an Internet power user for nearly a decade that I went fully paperless with my monthly bills.

The good news is that most financial services providers now offer paperless options, not always for the same reasons but the results are the same. Just look at the results which Citibank achieved with its credit card customers in the first 18 months of its cultural shift toward 100% acceptance of paperless statements:

• 1.8 million trees planted

• 6,800 trees saved thus

• helping make 14 national forests greener

Citibank is far from perfect, persisting in dirty lending practices to resource extraction projects in emerging nations (and we must continue to advocate for an end to such loans). Nevertheless, there can be no denying that customers of the credit card division of Citibank are experiencing a cultural shift, one which helps expand their comfort zone with respect to paperless billing statements and thus making them more open to doing business the same way with their electrical utility or their local tax directorate or other entity with whom they conduct commerce.

I commend Citibank and encourage its peers to emulate the mission statement listed below. It constitutes a very solid beginning for one of the world’s largest financial services institutions.

"We’re on a global mission. Citi is committed to directing $50 billion over the next 10 years to address global climate change through investments, financings and related activities to support the commercialization and growth of alternative energy and clean technology among the clients and markets it serves, as well as within its own businesses and operations."

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

Reforestation Projects Mean Clean Air And Less Global Warming

We are just one installment shy of my 100th podcast here at Keyboard Culture. As my readership numbers continue to rise and the breadth of the subject matter I cover continues to increase, I strive harder and harder to bring you topics which cover material unlikely to be found elsewhere. The Interstate Traveler Hydrogen Superhighway is a technology which I have mentioned and illustrated more than any other because of the variety of ills it can cure. Initially, its inventor, Justin Sutton, recipient of the Sir Isaac Newton Award from the American Computer Science Association, was content to tell the world about the infrastructure and transportation challenges it solves.

As an environmentalist, I, of course, was elated by the number of green characteristics which the Interstate Traveler brings. Now, in commemoration of my 100th podcast, I have conducted the third installment in my interview series with Justin Sutton because his organization has adopted a much more forward stance on two of the top methods of reversing the climate crisis which humanity has available, energy efficiency and reforestation. Before sharing the interview with you, though, I’d like to provide some background information on why we need to embrace energy efficiency and reforestation.

Before the Industrial Revolution took hold, the majority of the production of oxygen on this planet took place in our forests. Sadly, that important role of our vast arboreal regions makes the wood in the trees very dense and suitable for conversion into structures. The loss of forests has accelerated to such an extent that we now rely mostly on our great prairies and vast oceans for fresh air and they are under increasing strain with each passing day.

The best way to assure clean air for every living thing on the planet and begin to reverse global warming is to restore our once immense forests to their previous grandeur and organizations such as the 10 Billion Acres Project are working to do just that. However, because we have altered the hydrology of our planet through the same destructive practices which leveled the forests, we no longer have the option of planting seedlings on vacant land and simply hoping for the best. We must take a methodical approach.

The Interstate Traveler Hydrogen Superhighway can assist with such an effort, as Justin Sutton explains in the forthcoming interview, but we needn’t wait for the system to be built. The good people at Tree Nation have a very practical approach to replanting forests in harsh areas and they are meeting with great success in Africa. I highly recommend that you surf on over to

http://www.tree-nation.com

to have a look at what they are doing and consider making a contribution. Once you have done that, return here to learn about how the Interstate Traveler can assist the United States and the world with energy efficiency, including the elimination of high-tension power lines.

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

NOTE: Audio for this post is accessible at the end

In commemoration of my 100th podcast, I have provided you with introductory threads about the unique attributes of energy efficiency and reforestation as the best means to combat global warming. Last time, I laid out for you the fact that the Interstate Traveler has components of both, including through recent additions to the solar-powered hydrogen rail initiative.

Now, it’s time to hear from Justin Sutton in his own words. As follows is the abridged textual version of my third interview with this genius. At the end of the text, you will find the audio player to hear the telephone exchange in its entirety.

Mister Sustainable: Even under ideal conditions, high-tension wires lose 10% or more of the current flowing through them to heat and other inefficiencies. How efficient will the conduit cluster inside the Interstate Traveler Hydrogen Superhighway be for transmitting high-voltage electrical service?

Justin Sutton: The Hydrogen Super Highway, or HyRail for short, hosts a redundant set of what is known as high-temperature super conductor cables, or HTSCs. They are called “High-Temperature” super conductors because of the unique metallurgy that enables super conducting properties at the temperature of liquid Nitrogen which is about -196 degrees Celsius – pretty is pretty cold stuff – but not nearly as cold as liquid hydrogen which is -252 degrees Celsius. The breakthrough innovation of HTSC was the creation of the unique metal that works at liquid Nitrogen temperatures, which has enabled the development of cables that can be charged with liquid Nitrogen and installed into conduits like our conduit cluster. Until this new metal was developed, the only way a super conduct could be made was in a laboratory using liquid Hydrogen which was next to impossible to make into a cable. These cables have the ability to distribute a massive amount of electrical energy with nearly zero resistance which enables the power companies to save the energy that is lost in traditional high-tension lines. What is more, the use of HTSCs enables the distribution of lower voltage which reduces the coronal discharge, or ambient electromagnetic energy the can light up florescent tubes at a distance.

Mister Sustainable: In his Pickens Plan, noted energy trader T. Boone Pickens advocates the broad adoption of wind power in the United States. Many leading environmental organizations have fallen in behind him but at present, the American electrical grid has several large gaps in areas which are ideal for the construction of wind power. Can construction of the Interstate Traveler Hydrogen Superhighway along all 54,000 miles of Eisenhower expressway alleviate this problem and provide an electrical pipe for the gigawatts of wind energy which will come online in the next decade?

Justin Sutton: Yes! The National HyRail, which refers to the Hydrogen Super Highway built along the Eisenhower Interstate Highway network, can provide more than just the ability to distribute the power from wind farms. The National HyRail can buffer and store the energy produced until it is demanded by the customers our on the national energy grid. Even more beneficial to the Pickens Plan, the Conduit Cluster has the ability to provide a massive pipeline to store and distribute Natural Gas and other viable fuels to feed market demand as we transition away from fossil fuels in the coming decades.

Mister Sustainable: One of the greatest challenges facing the growth of the American economy is the need for new corridors for high-tension power lines through areas which already are populated. Can the Interstate Traveler eliminate the need for new power lines and/or eliminate existing lines?

Justin Sutton: Yes! The HyRail can certainly provide the distribution capacity demand of today’s market on into the future. Even more exiting, the HyRail system of systems creates a financially viable method to replace existing high-tension lines with a safe and resilient elevated rail that can distribute power down the established corridors while enabling the valuable real estate to become safe for public use. This will enable the power distribution companies to not only save money by reducing the energy losses to next-to-nothing, but also reap the benefits of safe and desirable land corridors for housing, shopping and entertainment.

Mister Sustainable: An aspect of the fight against global warming which receives inadequate attention is reforestation, the replanting of trees in order to sequester carbon naturally and help the atmosphere regulate temperature. A leading advocate of reforestation is the United Nations, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Under the auspices of the United Nations, the 10 Billion Acres project has begun to gain traction and its overarching vision includes a concept known as the Grand Arbor. You recently launched the Grand Arbor Carbon Sequestration Program within the Interstate Traveler Company. Would you elaborate on this, please?

Justin Sutton: The Grand Arbor Carbon Sequestration program is a very important program, perhaps the most important for the future of our global climate change issues. It has been known to science and historians that human activity has brought about the destruction of billions of acres of forests world wide over the last 500 years. This has created a terrible imbalance in the carbon/oxygen cycles of the natural ecosystems and, sadly, has destroyed the unique habit of countless species that are now extinct. The Grand Arbor Carbon Sequestration program employs the HyRail to create a constantly flowing supply of water to replant millions and millions of acres of trees in places where they have not stood for hundreds of years.

Beyond that, it is known that desertification has rapidly increased with the Sahara and the Gobi marching forward and relentlessly overwhelming once viable agricultural land. The Grand Arbor will not only enable the sequestration of millions of tons of carbon in the form of natural vegetation, but will also reclaim parched landscapes for future generations of people to enjoy an agricultural system that will work relentlessly for hundreds of years into the future.

Mister Sustainable: Another exciting project of yours is the Hydroponic Traveler. In addition to supplying desolate areas with an agricultural corridor, I understand that the Hydroponic Traveler can sequester about 24 tons of carbon per year for each mile of rail. Wow! How will this be achieved?

Justin Sutton: Yes, the Hydroponic Traveler is the key to halting the terrible desertification of lands that had once supported hundreds of thousands of people. As the core technology of the Grand Arbor Carbon Sequestration program, the ability to deliver Hydroponic grade solutions will enable the fortification of soils, and the creation of new compostable soils in areas that are parched and dry.

Listen Free Here

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

In my interview with Justin Sutton, the award-winning inventor of the Interstate Traveler Hydrogen Superhighway spoke at length about reforestation and the vast quantities of carbon which can be sequestered and desertification which can be reversed through reforestation. He also explained how much energy efficiency stands to be gained by supplementing and ultimately replacing outmoded high-tension electrical transmission lines and towers with the superconducting conduit which runs through the heart of his high-speed rail system.

Since energy efficiency and reforestation are touted in the environmental community as the best means of reversing the global climate crisis, which is better? Well, that's a trick question because we can and must embrace both approaches because they most certainly are not exclusive of one another. However, enquiring minds are left with the question of out-and-out superiority.

My expert opinion is that neither is better because each carries ancillary benefits. Nevertheless, if you wish to choose one as the main method you support, reforestation would be a most worthy selection.

Forests perform many vital functions in nature over and above the sequestration of carbon. They help shatter damaging wind patterns. They help regulate rain patterns. They provide important habitat. They help rivers and streams remain healthy environments for fish and other aquatic wildlife.

Energy efficiency, of course, helps everyone use less energy, which reduces pollution, reduces utility bills, reduces pressures on real estate and environmentally sensitive lands for the siting of new power plants and helps people learn about the environmental consequences of living with modern conveniences and amenities.

In the end, then, we can see that energy efficiency and reforestation come with ancillary benefits but both need an army of grassroots advocates. You'll be welcome in either camp or both.

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

Despite years of neglect and budgetary shortfalls from the federal government, the national forests, monuments and parks of the United States are the envy of the world. Launched by the late President Theodore Roosevelt, the United States Park Service and its sister agencies control vast swaths of environmentally sensitive lands and waters which serve many purposes, to purify air and water, to provide habitat for wildlife, including endangered species, and for recreation.

Public lands controlled by the United States Department of Defense serve the additional purpose of national security through buffering population centers and simulating hostile environments for training exercises. With so much land under permanent protection by the federal government and similar quantities held by state and local governments, one would think that there would be more than enough trees to go around during the fourth quarter of every year when millions of Americans acquire firs, pines, spruces and other evergreens to decorate their homes for the holidays.

Indeed, for much of the 20th Century, when the tradition of trimming a Christmas tree became widely popular, no tree shortage existed. Now, though, as we are poised to enter the second decade of the 21st Century, shortages are chronic. The simple fact is this, between the harm to forests caused by global warming and the acceleration of unsustainable logging practices around the world, decorators now compete with paper mills for lumber.

We are in a downward spiral and on track for a collision in which the world’s forests collapse from abuse.

What should environmentalists do?

Well, I have written about the benefits of sustainable Christmas trees, including plastic trees. However, we all can and must do more. That’s why I support the Campaign to Reforest America. Administered by the National Forest Foundation, a key ally to the United States Forest Service, the Campaign to Reforest America is all about replanting our forests.

Since the people’s Christmas tree, the large arbor which adorns Washington, DC each year, always is from a national forest, Bitterroot in Montana in the case of 2008, it is fitting that we focus on their efforts during the holiday season. The good news doesn’t stop there, though. Catalogs are a huge source of deforestation in the United States and around the world and far too few catalog companies have any concern about their role in this global tragedy. Crate & Barrel is different, though. Dedicating a fixed percentage of revenue to reforestation, Plow & Hearth is part of the solution and has taken a very forward and public position about its responsibility to replant the trees which are felled to produce its catalogs.

I commend Plow & Hearth for its corporate responsibility in being a lead participant in the Campaign to Reforest America and encourage you to consider patronizing this organization for your last-minute holiday shopping or at any time during the year. You can learn more about the specifics of Crate & Barrel’s role in the Campaign to Reforest America at

http://www.plowhearth.com/about/reforest.asp

If you would like to make a financial contribution to replant trees this holiday season directly, without making a purchase, the National Forest Foundation maintains a convenient website to do just that. The URL is

https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/NationalForestFoundation/PlowandHearth.html

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

“The Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) represents the historic floodplain and valley of the lower Mississippi River. The MAV was once a 24.7 million acre complex of forested wetlands interspersed with swamps, cypress-tupelo brakes, scrub-shrub wetlands and emergent wetlands.”

– Ducksunlimited.org

The birthplace of the mass production automobile and subsequently the Big 3 automakers was along the northern tier of the United States, in what we now call the Rust Belt. As more foreign manufacturers have brought production of their cars onto American soil, they have favored the Southern section of the country, particularly the Southeast.

While much of North America was wooded before European settlers arrived, no region has suffered worse deforestation during the last century than the Southeast. One of the healthiest regions of the Southeast used to be the MAV. It still has thriving pockets but mostly has a degraded environment.

Covering portions of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee, the Mississippi Alluvial Valley is a huge area with a major role to play in regulating our climate. Since cars are a major source of damage to the environment, it is fitting that many of the world’s cleanest cars now are being manufactured in and around the MAV.

Now, to bring us more encouraging news, Volkwagen has partnered with CarbonFund.org to create the VW Forest in and near the Tensas River Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Louisiana. This is no mere planting of trees. It is a planned forest with arborists collaborating to maximize the benefits of carbon sequestration and habitat preservation.

Part of the Volkswagen Zero Carbon Project, I would like congratulate the VW leadership for its forward position on reforestation with the VW Forest. Since the automaker’s homeland of Germany also needs extensive reforestation, it is appropriate that some of the wisdom of those efforts is being applied to the United States in general and the Mississippi Alluvial Valley in particular.

This may well be the new meaning of Fahrvergnügen!

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

My first foray into environmental activism came not from the Sierra Club but SaveBioGems.org, a wonderful section of the website of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

SaveBioGems.org takes many of the most pressing environmental issues and focuses them on specific action items for its members, actions which generally consist of outreach efforts such as writing to elected officials, newspapers and other news outlets and their friends, encouraging them to do likewise.

SaveBioGems.org has many important victories to its name and recently it turned its track record of success toward reforestation in the tropics, beginning with Costa Rica. Reforestation of tropical zones is among the most effective ways to combat global warming because tropical forests grow significantly faster than temperate forests. For the proof, just consider the bamboo tree, which often grows as fast as conventional turf grass (but to stalk heights of up to 100 feet!).

Better still, in its first large-scale reforestation project, SaveBioGems.org has chosen to work with an innovative local partner, the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center in Costa Rica. Not only will this important alliance provide volumes of crucial information about how best to replant tropical forests but it will virtually assure success since the forest will be located on the property of the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center.

The good news doesn’t stop there, though. The Revive a Rainforest campaign allows you to purchase a tree for just $10, either for yourself or as a gift. Doing so not only will combat global warming but it will contribute to the body of knowledge of how to reforest the world in the fastest, safest and most environmentally beneficial manner.

To learn more or to purchase a tree, please visit

SaveBioGems.org/costarica

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

As a Floridian, I am well versed in the fact that drinking orange juice can be a very healthy habit. What’s more, one of the leading providers of orange juice to North America is based in Florida, Tropicana. When I visit my local supermarket, the only brand of orange juice I purchase on a regular basis is Tropicana.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered a wonderful paragraph along the top of my orange juice carton heralding the Rescue The Rainforest campaign from Tropicana and Cool Earth! Wow! For each carton of Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice in select sizes, along with several other sizes and varieties, consumers can save 100 square feet of rainforest through Cool Earth. There is no additional cost involved. Consumers simply visit a special website to enter the code printed on their carton and the rainforest is saved.

This is a fabulous effort with the potential to save many hundreds of acres of rainforest through the good deeds of the Cool Earth organization. If you purchase orange juice at the supermarket, watch for the specially marked cartons of Tropicana Pure Premium. If orange juice is not on your weekly shopping list, it should be. Not only is this fresh beverage highly nutritious, now your purchase can help save vital rainforest.

The promotion continues through the end of calendar year 2009. You’ll find all of the details at

TropicanaRainForest.com

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

On behalf of everyone who breathes, I would like to congratulate the United
States House of Representatives for passing the American Clean Energy and
Security Act on June 26, 2009. Likewise, to every member of Congress who voted
against it, I cry Shame! Shame! Shame!

Given the name of this blog and its body of content, my attitude toward those
myopic congressmen who voted against clean air for future generations should
come as no surprise. However, there is a specific element of the argument
against this historic bill which I would like to address. When foes of progress
realized that the bill had a 50/50 chance of passing, they pulled out all the
stops. They organized a telephone campaign which brought the Capitol switchboard
to a halt. To that I have no objection, per se, as democracy is about assuring
that everyone has a voice. However, what bothered me greatly was the type of
misinformation which opponents convinced their mouthpieces on Capitol Hill and
beyond to spew.

Opponents of the American Clean Energy and Security Act had the unmitigated gall
to claim that the technology for widespread carbon sequestration does not exist
yet. Baloney! The opposite is true! In fact, since launching this blog in
2007, I have spent quite a bit of time covering reforestation and the varied and
variegated reforestation projects which span the globe. While planting millions
of acres of trees in order to return the carbon content of the planet’s
atmosphere to levels not seen since the Industrial Revolution may not be as
futuristic as burying tons of carbon in abandoned mines, I can assure you that
it is every bit as valuable to the larger effort of fighting global warming.

Moreover, projects which support the halting of deforestation, which has a
similar effect in terms of carbon sequestration as does reforestation, can have
a more direct benefit to humanity than simply planting trees. To wit,

I encourage you to read my recent thread on the Kyoto Box. You also may find
that you enjoy perusing the

reforestation category for additional inspiration and perspective.

In the coming weeks, as the United States Senate begins its work on the American
Clean Energy and Security Act, let’s all remember that carbon sequestration on a
mass scale can begin immediately. The only element missing from current projects
in order to expand their reach is money, funds which will be generated by the
passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act and enactment by President
Obama.

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

When I told you about the Kyoto Box solar cooker, I contextualized its benefits as humanitarian and environmental by explaining the methods utilized by many people in Madagascar to cook food, under conditions which even the indigenous tribes would call primitive. Upon initial consideration, it may be difficult for my readers to grasp how there can be a direct link between such a hand-to-mouth existence and deforestation. Trust me, there is. For the complete explanation, I encourage you to read my original post by clicking here.

Although I am proud of Jon Bøhmer for inventing the Kyoto Box, proud of the Financial Times for seeing fit to recognize the Kyoto Box with a prestigious prize and proud of myself for reporting on all of it, can I truly state that I effected broad change in the battle against global warming with my prose? Perhaps not! So, let’s open a second front in the same battle, deforestation in Madagascar. The good people at Sustainable Travel International can be key allies in that battle.

At this time of year, many people travel. I certainly do. Concurrently, at this time of year, many people purchase, receive, spend or regift the panoply of gift cards which are available from retailers and online vendors most everywhere. Having given and received (but never regifted) these nifty pieces of plastic, I understand their appeal. However, that same appeal begs a question: can they be sustainable?

The commendable Travelers Giving Back™ sustainable gift cards from Sustainable Travel International most definitely are sustainable and help fight deforestation in Madagascar! I’m all for that!

Offering us the option of investing in a broad portfolio of philanthropic and sustainability projects, including the fight against deforestation through guaranteed carbon offsets acquired in Madagascar, one of only 34 globally recognized biodiversity hotspots, these biodegradable gift cards make the perfect present for most any occasion but particularly for people who travel on a regular basis.

I thank the Sustainable Travel International organization for its work in favor of sustainability in general and deforestation in Madagascar in particular and encourage you to consider a sustainable gift card for your special someone.

You’ll find all of the details about sustainable gift cards from Sustainable Travel International at

sustainabletravel.com/giftcard

and the fight against deforestation in Madagascar at

sustainabletravelinternational.org/documents/projects_madagascar.html

Disclosure of consideration: The opinions expressed in this blog post are my own. They were not influenced by any outside party. Moreover, I have no financial interest in Sustainable Travel International, Conservation International or the WCS.

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

At this time of year, during the bleak midwinter of the Northern Hemisphere, Valentine’s Day can stir warm, romantic endeavors. Sadly, such intentions often carry with them an unnecessarily large environmental footprint in the form of cut flowers, which often originate in nations with lax environmental and labor laws, and chocolates, which are made from cocoa, a plant which frequently suffers from similar environmental abuses.

Gift trees from such fine organizations as Friends of Trees are a green alternative which may seem less romantic upon first consideration but can yield lasting results and deserve your retail focus. Because the trees planted through the gift trees program of Friends of Trees are allowed to thrive sustainably as part of a reforestation project in Oregon, you and your special someone will know not only that you have helped sequester carbon, filter water and clean the air for everyone but that your green investment will grow in size and influence each year, a fact you can revisit the next time Valentine’s Day comes around.

You’ll find all of the necessary details at

FriendsofTrees.org/GiftTrees

Part of my success as an environmentalist is my pragmatism. I know full well that I will not dissuade everyone from sending cut flowers and chocolates this Valentine’s Day simply by explaining the facts. So, if you are not convinced that gift trees are every bit as romantic as traditional cut flowers and chocolates, might I persuade you to limit your purchase to items certified by the Rainforest Alliance?

The Rainforest Alliance is one of many very fine organizations which strive to raise awareness of the importance of protecting and restoring the world’s rainforests. As I am so fond of reminding you, dear reader, it is not enough to convince people of the importance of living in harmony with nature. We also must give them practical alternatives. This is why the certification program from The Rainforest Alliance is such a growing success.

The good people at The Rainforest Alliance are engaged in comprehensive advocacy in support of rainforests throughout Latin America. They have earned my success. The additional good news is that many retailers now participate in the certification program, making it easy to shop the way you ordinarily would but by choosing products you know have been rendered with sound environmental and labor practices.

To learn more about the Rainforest Alliance and their certification program, just visit

rainforest-alliance.org

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

The fresh air which each of us needs in order to survive is produced primarily by 3 natural systems, boreal forests and prairies, tropical rainforests and oceanic plants. Tragically, modern living has caused the existence of these vital ecological macro organisms to suffer huge losses.

The ideal solution is to mend our behavior. However, as important as such modifications are, they represent only a single step. In other words, healing from wounds cannot begin until the infliction has ended. Nevertheless, since the fate of every living thing on Earth hangs in the balance, I am firm in my belief that we must begin aggressive reforestation efforts on every continent and do so immediately.

Through its Plant For The Planet campaign, the World Clean Air Forest Initiative offers most anyone the chance to make a real difference, to begin a reforestation campaign with a single tree. Over and above the fact that the World Clean Air Forest Initiative offers its reforestation kit for very little money is the fact that the organization helps its supporters glean the recognition they deserve by registering the planting and then by matching it with their own planting.

That is exactly the type of encouraging effort around which global campaigns of reforestation can be built. There are many other fine organizations engaged in widespread reforestation efforts but the Plant For The Planet campaign of the World Clean Air Forest Initiative is the first of its kind I’ve seen which really brings home all of the necessary concepts such as geographic reach, collaboration with peer organizations (the United Nations, in this case) and institutional backing to honor the sweat equity of its supporters.

I commend the World Clean Air Forest Initiative for its innovative Plant For The Planet campaign and everything it has accomplished thus far. I am certain that it will have a lasting impact and I encourage you to visit the charity’s website to learn more. After all, the base price of a handsome Clean Air Tree Kit is just £4.99. The address of the homepage of the World Clean Air Forest Initiative is

wcafi.org

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler