FEATURE ARTICLE
New ecological science increases calls for forest protection movement to unite in campaign to protect all ancient forests
By Earth’s Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet (EI)
A new study in the journal Nature [ark] finds old-growth forests are “carbon sinks” [search] and continually absorb carbon dioxide [1]. Australian researchers recently found logging primary forests releases 40 percent of their carbon [2]. These findings discredit decades of thought that primary forests are carbon neutral, they can or should be “sustainably” logged, and only young forests continue to remove carbon.
The Earth’s remaining ancient forests need to be fully protected not just because destroying them will release huge stores of greenhouse gases while destroying biodiversity — but because science now knows what many of us intuited — they continue in perpetuity to absorb massive amounts of new carbon dioxide. The environmental movement must respond accordingly.
This causes discomfort for groups like Greenpeace and the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) that actively support ancient forest logging. They campaign for certified industrial first-time harvest of primary forests, and to establish some protected areas, while acquiescing to ancient forest logging elsewhere. They work to end coal use, but not ancient forest logging. New ecological science indicates their discredited forest campaigns cause climate change and block ecologically sufficient policies.
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- ALERT: As Rainforest Action Network Prepares to "Revel", What Has Become of Their Old Growth Forest Campaign?
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