Urban Forests Key to International Climate Responses

Posted by
WorldChanging Team

by Alex Aylett

A study released recently [press release] by Georgia Tech planning Professor Brian Stone recommends planting millions of trees to create extensive new urban forests as a key part of international climate response plans. That's one conclusion of his look at the climatic impacts of deforestation and urbanization.

Stone's key finding is that:

“Across the U.S. as a whole, approximately 50 percent of the warming that has occurred since 1950 is due to land use changes (usually in the form of clearing forest for crops or cities) rather than to the emission of greenhouse gases.”

That offers a strong argument for recognizing how key land use is to responding to climate change. It's also a call to recognize the importance of local governments...read full story.