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Imagine a leaky pipe is sending water into your basement. Unfortunately, the leak is behind a wall, and the shut-off valve is faulty. Stopping the leak is going to take time.
So in an effort to mitigate the problem until you get the valve and pipe fixed, you buy a bunch of sponges and pile them against the wall where water is seeping in. Initially, that helps, but, predictably, water eventually overwhelms the sponges. You need a more lasting solution.
That’s where we are with climate change.
The leaky basement is a silly and inadequate metaphor for our planetary peril, but I hope it helps to define a worldwide challenge we face.
A study published in November in the journal “Nature” and highlighted by The New York Times underscored the challenge before us. It was a follow-up to a 2019 study that, on the one hand, was hailed as a positive force in that it inspired the global goal of planting 1 trillion trees. That movement resulted in national, regional and local efforts to plant trees around the globe. Indiana got on board by launching a program for planting 1 million trees.
The problem is that the 2019 study gave some countries and companies the impression that it’s OK to continue to produce record levels of carbon as long as they planted trees. Adding insult to injury, many of the planting efforts put the wrong trees in the wrong places, resulting in the equivalent of sponges in that leaky basement: a superficial fix.
The new study sharpens the language and makes two things clear: 1) We must complement tree planting with reductions in carbon production, and 2) we will be most effective if we protect and expand existing forests with native, long-lived trees.
Indiana is perfect for such a planting program. With its rich soils, adequate moisture and moderate temperatures, the Hoosier state is great for growing carbon-capturing trees. The oak, hickory, walnut, poplar and cypress trees native to Indiana live a long time. They resist fire, drought and floods. And in winter, they allow snow to linger and reflect light, helping to cool the planet.
On the other hand, the monoculture evergreen forests so commonly planted as carbon offsets absorb heat in winter, and they’re susceptible to fires that release the carbon they’ve captured. In fact, one writer who planted such trees in reforestation programs recently lamented that she had unwittingly participated in the planting of “blowtorches.”
Protecting and enhancing Indiana’s forested land fights climate change. That’s why we advocate so strongly for protecting existing forests and expanding them wherever possible. Not only do these efforts conserve our natural heritage and provide areas for recreation and the appreciation of nature, but they also meaningfully address climate change.
Still, even the smartest reforestation efforts can only do so much if humans don’t reduce carbon production. After all, in our metaphor of the leaky basement, no number of sponges will save your home if you don’t stop the water at its source. Sooner or later, you’ve got to find a better way to remove the water while you also address its source.
Similarly, sooner rather than later, we must reduce our carbon production as we work to plant the right trees in the right places. Otherwise, we’ll end up with a planet that, like a house with a flooded basement, is uninhabitable.•
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Chapman is CEO and president of the Central Indiana Land Trust.
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Agree Agree Agree. As California and other states have discovered protecting forest is not a passive endeavor. Proper forest management to reduce forest fires and disease is essential.
The truth is it will take much time and effort to reduce carbon. The planting of trees should be perpetual, ongoing, and never ending. Once trees are planted they grow 365 days a year, year after year. Yes, the right locations matter, but they must be planted, and we must educate each and every generation to do so. We can’t wait for some single day organized planting event so we all feel good for a minute. Maintenance and management of our trees and forest must also be an ongoing exercise to insure the maximum life span of the trees. It’s also a very easy and healthy event to plant and maintain trees. This must become a priority, in both the planting and maintenance, but the public funding needs to be permanent for such in our urban areas and government owned lands.
The problem is these housing developers. I didn’t list any names because they all do it. They only care about profit. They cut down MASSIVE amounts of trees on a daily basis. Faster than people can plant them. Only then we get into the affordable housing issue. If we mandate developers save trees, then house prices go up. Seems like a catch 22.
Whatever happens…
YOU KNOW IT WILL BE POLITICAL.