April 7, 2010

Planting 3,000,000 trees - win/win

Planting 3,000,000 specimens of a highly invasive and non-native species - lose/lose From the Reno Gazette:
'Miracle tree' plantation outside Winnemucca Ranch to bring jobs
Plantations of a fast-growing tree native to China will be planted in the high desert north of Reno, generating $1.5 billion in revenue and creating 280 local jobs, representatives of an international forestry company announced Tuesday.

Working with landowners, Jaksick Entities, Sacramento-based ECO2 Forests Inc., is pursuing its plans on 14,000 acres near Winnemucca Ranch.

Initial planting should begin within six weeks, with up to 3 million of the hardwood trees ultimately grown, said Collie Christensen, the company's CEO.

The Washoe County project is the first of many to establish up to 100,000 acres of kiri plantations across the country and up to 1 million acres globally, company officials said. Other plantations are being planted or are planned in the South Pacific, Brazil and Mexico.

Harvested lightweight lumber will be used primarily for such things as furniture and boat making, but value also is associated with the broad-leafed tree's ability to strip carbon dioxide from the air that will result in the ability to make money in the carbon-credit market, Christsensen said. He said the tree can hold more carbon than any other.
Emphasis mine -- follow the money... As for the tree in question: Paulownia tomentosa Who says that it is an invasive species? The Plant Conservation Alliance The Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council The United States Department of Agriculture The Invasive Plants of the Eastern United States A Google search for Paulownia invasive turns up over 56K hits. Here is the website for ECO2. This is not about the environment, this is about making money from the carbon trading scam... Posted by DaveH at April 7, 2010 11:57 AM | TrackBack