Our calculator and offsetting project is about CO2, because CO2 is the most tangible and most accurately calculable part of our ecological footprint to date. However, we must not forget that this is only one part of the calculation and that our climate as a whole and therefore life on our planet are in danger. Global warming is just one consequence of our interventions in the ecological balance, but drought, floods, storms and other extreme weather events are also part of climate change.
So it is not enough just to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere. Even if we stopped burning fossil fuels, we could not stop climate change if we continue to destroy carbon-rich ecosystems and important habitats. We need a real savior of the climate and biodiversity. The best part - we already have it. And we can't afford to lose it: The forest.
Currently, 30% of the earth's surface is forested. Standing forests have many important functions for the climate and the environment. They prevent the erosion of nutrient-rich soils.Trees produce the majority of the oxygen essential for humans on a global scale, thus securing our foundation for life. Forests also filter particulate matter, such as heavy metals, nitrogen oxides, and soot particles from industrial and vehicle emissions, out of the atmosphere and purify the water in streams and rivers.
Through the constant evaporation of the vegetation and the release of aerosols by the trees, the forest itself also ensures the typically frequent precipitation. Therefore, forests are also responsible for a moist, cool microclimate and storing huge amounts of water; therefore they act as our most important buffer against extreme weather and climate change. So they really are the "green lungs" of our planet. And last but not least, they are places of peace and relaxation.
Above all, these forests store more CO2 in their biomass, soils, and peat bogs than is present in the entire atmosphere. When forests are cleared, the carbon reserves stored within them are released into the atmosphere through the use of wood and the decomposition of branches, leaves, and roots, returning as CO2. This CO2 acts as a greenhouse gas, accelerating global warming. Biodiversity is lost, and due to the absence of tree vegetation, it becomes significantly drier and hotter. When carbon-rich ecosystems like forests and peat bogs are destroyed, they release more CO2 than can be reabsorbed within a time frame relevant to humans.
For this reason, forests, especially old primeval forests, are our most important buffer against human-induced climate change worldwide. However, 13 million hectares of forest disappear every year, an area equivalent to the size of Greece.
Without the forest, our air would be too polluted to breathe, there would not be enough reliable rain, our soils would be washed out and depleted of nutrients, our water sources would dry up, and drought and heat would plague us. That's why we think it's time to say thank you to nature for all the free services it provides us with every day and without which life would be impossible. If we want to save the climate as a whole and life on our planet, it is not enough to bind CO2 in new plantings at some point in the future or to reduce it through innovative technologies.
We must say thank you and preserve all the remaining, intact, high-carbon ecosystems that "give us gifts" every day.
