If anyone reading this has been fortunate enough to experience the wonder of a mature bottomland hardwood swamp, then place yourself in a category with few other people. Bottomland hardwoods in the Southern United States have been reduced to a small portion of what they once were for reasons anywhere from disease prevention to pine plantation development.
Half of the world’s forests have already played their part in that story. Today, more than 11 million hectares disappear annually, accounting for 11%-20% of all human-caused carbon emissions. The act of deforestation itself accounts for a staggering 17% of all carbon emissions on the planet. There are so many ways you can help.
We have lovely new interns starting at Dogwood Alliance this month, and we’re excited to introduce you to them!
On Wednesday afternoon, we went up to Chesapeake to get a closer look at the Enviva export facility. The southern part of the Elizabeth River runs through Portsmouth and Chesapeake and is lined with industrial centers on both sides. From the Jordan Bridge crossing the river, it is easy to spot the two enormous white silos that store up to 100,000 metric tons of wood pellets. We paddled our kayaks through Paradise Creek, which runs right next to the domes. The structures are massive. It’s alarming to realize the amount of forests that must be cleared to stock these domes, and the impact of this huge loss on our environment and communities.
From the books in the library to the composition pads and math notebooks, paper is a fantastic and effective tool for learning. We want to help you, though, to be aware of the choices that are out there. These choices are important, because by choosing recycled and Forest Stewardship Council certified paper made from responsibly managed forests, you limit your impact on the environment. It’s a great feeling to be able to buy your children’s school supplies and help protect important conservation values in the forests of the US South and around the world.
