>> We are losing land based plants at an historic rate. Where do your numbers come from?
Respectfully, as with global warming and energy in general, I'm not sure you know what you're talking about. Certainly, in the US (which has close to 10% of the world's trees), there are more trees around than there were 100 years ago.
100 years ago, a stand of timber would be clear cut and that was that. Today, we cut it, we plant it properly and with new trees that best meet our objectives, we thin it on schedule, we protect it from destruction by fire and disease, and the result is we have more trees than we did 100 years ago.
We do this on timberland we own and pretty much everyone around us does the same. Not because the government tells us to, but because that will maximize the returns on our investments. Large timber growers like Plum Creek and Deltic are extremely aware of the value their timber investments represent and they don't waste it. In my experience, most small timber growers are cognizant of the same need to use their land wisely. It is money. |
