And it doesn't take into account the nearly 20 million tons of carbon dioxide that the Pacific Forest Trust estimates has been and will be lost per year between 1990 and 2010 in western Oregon and Washington. It's those kinds of emissions that make forests the second-largest source of carbon dioxide on the planet, said Wayburn. On the other hand, changing forest practices for longer rotations can turn the losses around, the trust says. But with no generally accepted accounting principles for carbon, it is hard to measure its flow, she said. It's certainly something we're concerned about as far as the global climate change is concerned.
Coal power accounts for more than half the nation's carbon-dioxide emissions from electricity.
And while residential use takes up one-fifth of the nation's energy, commercial and industrial processes consume half the nation's power. While a homeowner might try to use the toaster less, Earth Day's Hayes would like to see a spectrum of regulatory changes and financial incentives to contain energy use. The Bush administration earlier this month approved tougher efficiency standards for washing machines and water heaters but rolled back new standards for home air conditioners and heat pumps. Hayes would like to see more energy-efficient building codes, better automobile mileage ratings to encourage conservation and a dramatic increase in government support for alternative energy sources. That kind of large-scale change will bring about improvements far greater than the individual actions of motivated people, environmentalists say.