USFS

We little guys need to show up and support our scientists, USFS, and enlightened policy makers.

It has been over 60 climate columns and I have stuck to my pledge to leave the data of science out because it tends to put folks to sleep.  At the end of this column, though, I will start to add a little pertinent data. If you have searched out and studied the links to our scientists at NASA, NOAA, AAAS, AMS or the IPCC the information will be “Old Hat”.

In the world of environmentalism there are an innumerable just causes such as Monarch Butterflies or Coral Reefs. I am proud of our environmental successes. We often think of the great conservationists & environmentalists like Teddy Roosevelt, John Muir, Franklin B. Hough, Bernhard E. Fernow, Gifford Pinchot, Aldo Leopold, Sigurd Olson, Rachel Carson, and Gaylord Nelson *. These are a few of the visionaries who have made us the envy of every nation on earth. These people gave us our parks, wildlife refuges, national forests, clean air, clean water, Earth Day and have saved the ozone layer.

These accomplishments would not have been possible without the backing of the small activist and supporters like you and me. In their day, the visionaries were as much hated as loved. The common man stood up with them allowing progress to be made.

We do not have to agree on every cause. For instance, I have written to environmental organizations to protest continued national wolf protections. I tell them, “I love wolves, but we have plenty of wolves. Not only that, Michigan has professional biologists trained to protect the predator, prey, habitat balance. More importantly, by pushing your wolf agenda you alienate my neighbors. We (environmentalists) must build alliances if we want to solve risk #1, the climate crisis.  To do the greatest good with my money I am diverting my money from your organization to climate focused organizations like 350.org, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Citizens Climate Lobby.”

My helicopter career gave me the privilege of meeting and visiting with many dedicated professionals. My cockpit was my classroom and I was the student.  I spent thousands of hours with biologists and in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, and Nevada.   When you are in the “thick of it” counting or darting animals there is no time to chat. During the slow times I always had questions. My passengers were happy to educate me.

I had much the same relationship with managers in the USFS and Nevada Forest Service. There is no time to visit when attacking the fire, but I enjoyed their impromptu personal lectures after the battle.

In all cases, these men and women were the most dedicated, thoughtful, and professional people I worked with in my 40-year career.

Let me divert to hard scientific data for a moment. Scientists most often refer to the concentration of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, (CO2) in parts per million or ppm.  Carbon dioxide makes up a very small amount of our atmosphere, but its impact is enormous.  If there is too little, mother earth is frozen stiff. If there is too much CO2, we get nasty weather. If we continue to extreme levels of CO2 we will get extreme weather.

The best way scientists have to evaluate CO2 concentrations is by painstakingly analyzing ice cores from Greenland and the Antarctic. From these 800,000 annual layers of trapped gasses and particles we know that CO2 concentration normally vary between 180 ppm and 280 ppm.

 At 180ppm, the northern hemisphere has been locked in ice ages. When the ppm of CO2 rises to 280 the earth is warm.

As a result of burning coal, oil, and gas, which powered our first industrial revolution, we have been driving the ppm up.

 This dramatic rise in CO2 caught the eye of the great NASA climate scientist Dr. James Hansen. He was startled to see the dramatic rise of CO2 concentrations. In 1988, he warned us in testimony to the US Congress that we must slow our emissions and sequester CO2 to remain below 350ppm. **

 We are now at 400ppm and climbing.  We are well within the “Danger Zone” and the effects are being experienced world-wide. It is indisputable that the global average temperature is rising as predicted.

What conclusions can we make from this? First, the chance the earth will slip back into an ice age or even a world-wide cold spell does not exist. (OK, the exception would be a nuclear war or a fatal disease holocaust killing most of us. This would allow forests to reestablish themselves world-wide. I consider these unattractive courses of action.)

I prefer transitioning to clean energy and managing our forests wisely and supporting afforestation projects. Forests, and forest products, are great sequesters of carbon.

There is plenty to be optimistic about.  There are brilliant people developing new energy sources and energy storage devices. There is progress in agriculture carbon sequestration. Biologist are altering the DNA of trees to make them hardier and sequester more carbon.

On the sequestering front, the book “Drawdown” suggests, in ten different chapters, some potential forest practices that may help us turn the climate corner. And, it is my best guess that there is plenty more to be discovered and implemented. Since wood is a great building material and doubles as a carbon sink, we need solutions that include expanding our forest resources to use more wood more wisely.

We must invest money in dedicated men and women who love the art and science of the forest. We need to fully fund the USFS, USDA, the National Science Foundation and their supporting universities.  There is lots to learn, and lots to do. We had better get started. We, us little guys and gals, have a right and a duty to speak up and stand up.  A lot gets done when we show up to support the visionaries, the scientists, and the professionals.

·       *Wisconsin is especially well represented with conservation heroes. Save some time for the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame at Steven’s Point if you are passing by.

**The climate change organization 350.org got its name from the James Hansen bench mark.