Ecosystem & Landscape

A great deal of focus is given to CO2 emissions and their role in the greenhouse effect, however the public is less aware of other powerful greenhouse gases.  Atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations have been rising since the Industrial Revolution due to anthropogenic activities. It is estimated that N2O accounts for 6% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Due to its atmospheric lifetime of approximately 120 years combined with its heat-trapping effects,  N2O has approximately 310 times more warming power than CO2 on a per molecule basis.

The truth about conservation is that some of the best work is done by intelligent folks sitting in front of computer screens, tied to a global community by a tangle of phone and internet lines, or in a board rooms surrounded by like-minded Patagonia- and Carhartt-clad colleagues. Several years ago I made the commitment to surrender to the requisite technology, frequent meetings, plane trips and long days indoors that are needed to make effective conservation happen; however, I also vowed to live within the wild archetypal landscapes I work hard to conserve.

On April 21st, CBI and The Nature Conservancy hosted a meeting in Duluth, MN to discuss climate change in northeastern MN and to begin developing scenarios that could be used with a forest simulation model to estimate the effects of climate change on the extensive forests of northeastern MN.