Tag Archives: forests emitting carbon

The Crises In Our Forests

The story that follows contains perspectives not necessarily shared by the Cortes Radio Society, its board, staff, volunteers or membership.

On Monday, November 25, 2019, the forest management company Mosaic began shutting down its Vancouver Island harvesting operations because of “very challenging pricing and market conditions.” Approximately 2,000 people – contractors, union and non union workers, are being dismissed “ahead of the usual winter shutdown.” Mosaic plans to “resume harvesting when the market outlook improves,” but some see this as symptomatic of a much larger industry problem. Sierra Club BC and the Wilderness Committee had planned to hold an event in Campbell River’s downtown Community Centre that same day. Two hours before this was to begin, the city of Campbell River cancelled it because of “the number of people anticipated, the strong potential for highly-charged emotion, and lack of time to establish a security plan for this booking.” This morning’s program is about the crises in our forests.

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The Ministry’s Answers

By Roy L Hales

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One June 8, Sierra Club BC released their report  BC forest wake-up call.  I responded by requesting an interview with Jens Wieting, of the Sierra Club, and shooting off a list of questions to the Ministry of Forests. As I published my interview with Wieting yesterday, it seems appropriate to publish the Ministry’s answers as a Q&A today.

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BC’s Forests Produced 256 Million Tonnes of CO2

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British Columbia could be emissions free. The province’s forest cover is vast enough to absorb more carbon than we actually need to use. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Forests has not been doing a good job since the Liberal Government took power. Instead of storing carbon, BC’s forests now emit carbon. So many trees have been clear cut, infested by Mountain Pine Beetles or burned in forest fires, that BC’s forests produced 256 million tonnes of CO2 in the decade following 2003.

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BC’s Forests at Risk: Logging Practices Must Change

The health of BC’s forest cover is not good. In many parts of the province, our forests are emitting carbon, rather than absorbing it.

According to a story in the Times Colonist, “the province’s own data (shows that) net carbon dioxide emissions from forestland in 2011 were 34.9 million tons, equivalent to more than half of B.C.’s total official emissions for that year. However, only carbon emissions from deforestation and afforestation (new or replanted forests) are included in the province’s official total.”

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