The human condition has created a situation on planet Earth so out of balance we now need to consider “paying” for the carbon we produce as a species if we plan to continue our existence. Such is the belief of some visionary environmentalists working to create a program whereby local forests can be saved from development to continue sequestering carbon in the air while also providing the landowners with income. A group of us recently toured three local forests that have become part of a carbon offset program managed by NW Neutral®, a project of the Northwest Natural Resource Group.

Carbon offsets are purchased as a way of making up for the carbon generated by a company, a factory or an individual. These carbon offsets can take the form of a solar project, a wind energy project, or a living forest, all of which sequester some of the carbon we are producing in alarming amounts in our Western lifestyle. Too much carbon is the leading factor in global warming and the destruction of our ozone layer. We are simply producing too much carbon for the natural forces of nature to process.

The European Union (EU) has recognized the value of carbon offsets and, as part of the Kyoto protocol, carbon offsets are required by law in the EU. Many companies in the U.S. are purchasing carbon offsets in an effort to “green-up” and as an example of good triple bottom line management. But most of the carbon offset markets currently available have been difficult for small forest owners to participate in due to the transaction costs.

NW Neutral has created an innovative method of combining small forests into a carbon offset market to help mitigate these costs. NW Neutral landowners must first meet the rigorous forest management standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) before they can enroll in the program. FSC standards provide for environmental, social, and economic sustainability and ensure that forests will grow longer and sequester more carbon than would otherwise occur if managed to usual industrial standards. All participating landowners agree to manage their lands to these standards for the length of the 100-year contract.

Forests sequester carbon by fixing it in the woody tissue of the tree or through symbiotic relationship with the fungi and microbes that live in the forest soil. Each part of a forest plays a role in carbon sequestration. One of the requirements of selling shares of forest to offset carbon involves a study of the plot in consideration to determine the biomass of the land.

By bringing together privately owned small forests, NW Neutral is allowing local landowners to participate in the carbon offset market. At least three of these forests are here in Jefferson County. Sunfield Farm & School is looking for a way to save their forestland and pay part of their mortgage expense. The McKann family is sustainably harvesting from their forestland, Windfall Forest; through participation in a small carbon offset market they hope to supplement their income while saving some of their trees. Ditto for the Jay-Mall Johani family, artists living in a forest they harvest to supply their firewood. Carbon offsets are a way for Tom Jay to ensure the forest remains a forest for at least the next 100 years.

The Food Co-op will begin selling carbon offsets to our owner-members for as little as $20 for one ton single units on August 1, 2010. Purchase includes a certificate of ownership from Northwest Neutral. For more information, go to the Member Services Desk.