Climate Change: A Possible (Partial) Solution

Someone has finally done a study on the carbon-storing capacity of forests:

Good news: we can help halt climate change through a massive campaign of reforestation, according to a new study published Thursday.

Bad news: it would require covering an area the size of the United States in new trees, and even then some scientists are skeptical about the paper’s conclusions.

Of course, scientists being only human, there's some controversy:

Some experts who were not involved with the study, however, expressed skepticism about some of its findings.

“Restoration of trees may be ‘among the most effective strategies,’ but it is very far indeed from ‘the best climate change solution available,’ and a long way behind reducing fossil fuel emissions to net zero,” said Myles Allen, a geosystem science professor at Oxford.

“Yes, heroic reforestation can help, but it is time to stop suggesting there is a ‘nature-based solution’ to ongoing fossil fuel use. There isn’t. Sorry,” he added.

Here's the comment I left at the site:

This is one area where I have to take both sides. Yes, reforestation is necessary and would be more than a little helpful, but it's not the solution. We really do need to cut fossil fuel use drastically. (It wouldn't hurt to start pushing birth control; there are way too many people on this planet.)

Side note: This article reveals the "either/or" thinking that seems to plague us and is most glaring when considering "opposing" scientific theories. I've run across several instances of scientific controversy over opposing theories, and in most cases, they aren't mutually exclusive. (Most notably, how did organic molecules appear on earth, created in deep-sea vents or on meteorites? And how did people come to the Americas, via land bridge or by boat following the coasts? My answer to both questions is "Yes.")

Side note 2: In the first decade of this century, the City of Chicago planted over half a million trees, ostensibly as part of a "beautification" program. I've noticed that we are now able to plant types of trees along the streets (oak, basswood, even bald cypress) that we couldn't plant before. Our air is that much cleaner. (Not to discount tighter standards on automobile emissions, but don't tell me the tree-planting didn't play a part.)