Politico: Do trees cause global warming?

[RandySF]

Looking for a solution to global warming? Maybe start clear-cutting many of the world's forests, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher says.

The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs oversight subcommittee made it clear during a Wednesday hearing that he doesn't believe in man-made global warming.

But if it were true — and most of the world's scientists agree it is — Rohrabacher said he's hit on an answer by tackling the 80 to 90 percent of heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions "generated by nature itself": Namely, yank down old trees and get rid of the rotting wood in rainforests.

"Is there some thought being given to subsidizing the clearing of rainforests in order for some countries to eliminate that production of greenhouse gases?" the California Republican asked Todd Stern, the top U.S. climate diplomat and lead witness at the hearing. "Or would people be supportive of cutting down older trees in order to plant younger trees as a means to prevent this disaster from happening?"




http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55731.html#ixzz1NVX1z4bv

[alsame]

1. "Trees cause pollution" was a gem spoken by Reagan in the

early 80s. A whole bunch of idiots believed it then, so I guess they're trying it out on a new generation.

[yawnmaster]

2. What??? yes rotting wood is oxidizing and generating CO2 as if was being...

burned, very slow...
but how does he equate yanking down trees with rotting wood???
I doubt the rotting wood changes the CO2 equilibrium much and collecting it (and then what...burn it? you'd have to seal it and bury it)...collecting it will upset forest balance. Actually, cutting down living trees is full of stupid to reduce CO2.

[sixmile]

3. Ask Haiti how deforestation is going for them

Junk science wrapped in insanity.
If you want to 'clear some brush' fine. But cutting live forests is INSANE.

[Art_from_Ark]

5. I was about to write the same thing

Whoever advocates cutting forests to combat global warming needs to get their head out of their crevice and learn about the role that trees play in the carbon cycle, among other things.

Here is the simplest diagram I could find to explain it:

[sixmile]

6. Easy enough for a republican to understand

Thanks!

[Autumn]

4. Only republican trees. n/t

[MH1]

7. teh stupid ...

:facepalm:

the awful thing is that some people will believe it.