EVs will matter more than trees for carbon emissions
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, April 18, 2023
In response to John Talberth’s recent commentary on carbon sequestration in mature forests, I am moved to point out the difference between present tense versus past tense for this subject (“Mature forests do more for climate, wildlife, water,” The Herald, April 8).
Multiple studies have noted that forest trees are most active in sequestering carbon between years 20 and 80. After that, their sequestration starts to fade, ending up as a small carbon emitter. (Those of us pushing 80 understand that phenomenon quite well.) To continue active sequestration, one would have to replace older trees with younger trees periodically. Stated a different way, on an annual basis, Sierra Pacific’s managed trees generate a net carbon sequestration, whereas the Wild Sky Wilderness unmanaged trees generate a net carbon emission.
So, what are we to do about this? Enter Elon Musk. Why Musk, you say? The Environmental Protection Agency’s latest word is that the transportation sector generates about 27 percent of America’s total annual carbon emissions, about three-quarters of that from wheels on the road vehicles. And, all of America’s forests sequester about 13 percent of total annual carbon emissions, largely from young forests.
Now, before Musk, it was (snicker) electric (snicker) car (snicker). After Musk, every major car manufacturer is moving to electrify their lineup with all-electric sedans, SUVs, “bad boy” pickups, supercars, large trucks, Bentleys, and Rolls-Royces. In MBA jargon, this is known as a paradigm shift. The technology for electric cars was there before Musk. Musk provided the impetus to move forward on it.
So, it does not require a stretch of the imagination to see that the transportation sector carbon emissions could be cut in half in 10 or so years. So, in 10 or so years, we would be able to say that Elon Musk has done more to clear the air annually of carbon than all of the forests in America put together.
Joe Beavers
Gold Bar
