All proceeds go to KEET-TV to help further its mission of providing culturally and intellectually enriching programming to the North Coast. Call 443-0813 for more information. People who own forest land often want to keep their land in its natural state but are economically encouraged to harvest timber, said Laurie Wayburn, president of Pacific Forest Trust, a Santa Rosa ecological organization. Wayburn may have a solution. The credits are theoretical units of carbon dioxide.
Power companies produce greenhouse gas which the trees help consume.
The idea is that those who are helping ease the problem by keeping land forested should be paid by the people producing greenhouse gases. The deal was a ground-breaking accomplishment for the Forest Trust. Carbon credits have been discussed as a means of reducing greenhouse gases at the federal and international levels, but this is the first example of the idea in action. Not everyone is sure this is the answer. But even though there are still questions, the idea is one that could reward good forest stewardship in Humboldt County.