Amongst European nations, Spain stands to suffer more than most from the effects of climate change and global warming, with nearly a third of the nation’s roughly 200,000 square miles threatened with a “significant risk” of desertification. In direct response to the threat, the government will invest around 90 million Euros as part of the reforestation drive.

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At left is Dizzywood’s celebration of Wildwood Glen’s reforestation, where kids planted 15,000 trees in online to offline eco-parity, partnering with The Arbor Day Foundation. I’ve added a slew of other tree-planting ideas and sites at the end of this piece to get ready for 9-22-08, worldwide Tree Planting Day coming up in the next couple weeks. In keeping with the green media theme of hope, promise and eco-renewal…here’s more from my interview with Scott Arpajian, Co-Founder of preteen virtual world, Dizzywood…

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There is an ongoing debate on the effectiveness of trees planting operations as a tool mitigate global warming. A new research from Australia adds more input into it, showing that agroforestry and reforestation are an important carbon sink.

The research, as reported on The Age, was conducted by researchers from Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), Queensland Climate Change Centre of Excellence, and Queensland Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries. It was presented to an agriculture, greenhouse gases and emissions trading conference on the Gold Coast.

Dr. Beverley Henry from MLA, who presented the research, showed that different forms of land management had a variety of effects on soil carbon. She said, according to the article, that researchers, analysing data from 74 publications on land-use changes, had made several conclusions:

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Paso del Istmo is a 20 kilometer-long land bridge in Nicaragua. Conservationists believe that the narrow strip of tropical forest could absorb some 170,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases over the next 40 years. What’s more, carbon offsets might make these forests worth more as trees than as lumber.

For millennia, the land bridge has been a corridor allowing animal migration between North and South America. It now has some of the most highly concentrated biodiversity in Nicaragua. Conservation group, Paso Pacifico, wishes to permanently protect the land bridge from developers, but where could they find funding to make this dream a reality?

Enter the carbon offset company, CarbonFund. In league with Paso Pacifico and the Rainforest Alliance, carbon offsets offer the funding to make conservation of the Paso del Istmo land bridge a reality; and they’re not stopping at just conservation.

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For each person who takes the survey, Union Fenosa donates 1 Euro to Acciónatura, a Spanish organization that uses the money to reforest the Atlantic Forest in Brazil.

Bosquevirtual, or “Virtual Forest,” has also teamed up with Second Life, a 3D web Mecca for internet socializing. Along with the actual donation to reforestation, then, every two surveys completed generates the planting of a virtual tree in a virtual forest in the Second Life 3D world.

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• Plant your own. If you do plant your own tree on your property, make sure to do your homework and consider factors such as species, climate, size, maintenance and function over time.

• Donate. There are many non-profit organizations with tree-planting initiatives that will plant one tree for every dollar you give. You can also give the gift of a tree by contributing in someone else’s name.

• Volunteer. Tree planting and reforestation efforts require a lot of labor. Instead of donating money to the cause, you can offer your time and volunteer with a tree planting organization.

Who is planting trees?

Arbor Day Foundation. Arbor Day is in April, but you can celebrate it all year round at Arborday.org. The Arbor Day Foundation helps people and businesses purchase actual trees. They also have reforestation, rain forest rescue and urban tree planting initiatives.

American Forests Global ReLeaf2 campaign. In an effort to curb the effects of global warming the Global ReLeaf 2 campaign has set out to plant 100 million trees by the year 2020 with over 500 projects around the world.

Dell. Upon check out, computer manufacturer Dell includes the option to buy a tree as a way to offset your carbon footprint. The option to donate money through Dell’s plant a tree for me program is also available even if you don’t buy a computer.

Plant-It 2020. Formerly Plant-It 2000, Plant-It 2020 offers a few ways to get an indigenous tree planted somewhere in the world. You can pick one of their select locations through the ‘dollar-per-tree’ program or sponsor a city reforestation event.

Tree People. LA-based Tree People has been planting trees for over 30 years all over the Southern California region. They work with communities to plant and care for trees, educate school children on the environment, and have worked closely with local governments on water issues.

United Nations Environment Programme. UNEP created the Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign to plant a billion trees around the world. Pledges, or promises of tree planting are made online. Over one billion trees have been promised, and 220 million have been planted so far.

Related articles from GO:

Landscaping for Energy Efficiency

Green Family Values: Who Speaks For the Trees?

Giant Heart of Trees to Fight Global Warming

Purchasers of a tree are asked to plant it on a virtual map, and then a real tree will be planted in the same spot at the park in Niger. There are different types of trees to choose from, all local ones that have the attributes (like robust root systems) to survive in the desert, like the Acacia, Baobab, and various palm trees.

Once a tree is purchased, it gets its own “Tree-Blog” and profile. Visitors to the site and tree purchasers can socialize with each other by sharing photos, messages, links, etc. Andy Pothecary and Maxime Renaudin are the co-founders of Tree-Nation and are based in Barcleona, Spain. They work with a small team of community members in Niger, and hope that they community there will become a center for projects working towards a sustainable, healthy future. Pothecary told Green Options:

“Our members will share a common interest by planting a tree, an action in the real world, bridging cultural and geographical boundaries.”

Since the project launched late last year, nearly 700 trees have been planted, so Tree-Nation has quite a ways to go. But even if you don't want to buy a tree, the site is worth checking out just for the fantastic mapping technology.

Tree-Nation is affiliated with the United Nations Environment Programme's Billion Tree campaign, whose mission is to plant a billion trees worldwide by the end of 2007 to fight deforestation and raise awareness of global warming.

Tree-Nation

When a customer buys a carbon offset, Carbonfund.org purchases and then retires the carbon, taking it out of circulation.

Eric Carlson is the Executive Director of Carbonfund.org, and co-founded the company with his wife, Lesley. Eric has more than 15 years of experience in energy efficiency and global warming policy and project work. He was worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program and has advised companies like Gillette, AT&T, and IBM on energy and money saving opportunities. Carbonfund.org’s motto is: “Reduce what you can, offset what you can not.”

I spoke with Eric by phone on March 23rd.

Green Options: There are a lot of companies and organizations out there selling carbon offsets, or Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). What makes Carbonfund.org different?

Eric Carlson: Our distinction is that we’re a nonprofit and that we let our customers decide for which projects their money is used. We also retire the carbon credits that we buy for our customers. Some companies buy them and then trade them, which doesn’t reduce the overall amount of carbon dioxide.

GO: What sorts of choices do your customers have?

EC: We offer three types of projects from which customers can buy RECs: renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reforestation.

GO: By the way, how do you “retire” carbon?

EC: We often just ask that our account with a particular project be closed, so that credits we’ve bought can never be used again.

GO: There’s a lot of discussion around the term “additionality” and carbon offset projects. Can you explain what that is?

EC: If a project would not have happened without someone buying the RECs to support it, then it is considered additional and a meaningful carbon reduction.

GO: How important is additionality to Carbonfund.org?

EC: We absolutely make sure that projects are additional. At the same time, I’m afraid that the controversies around additionality are slowing people down from just doing the right thing and reducing their carbon impact.

When you buy a REC, you are buying the environmental attributes of that electricity. There are so many variables that go into renewable energy projects, like leasing costs, interest rates, etc. RECs are a part of that, and by purchasing credits, you’re telling the market to buy and set up more renewable energy, and that’s additional.

Carbonfund.org cares a lot about additionality, we work on it every day, but we can’t let it get in the way of the prize.

GO: Some carbon offset companies don’t consider reforestation additional, or even a valid carbon offset.

EC: A tree is 100 percent additional. We buy that tree, so it would not have been planted without someone buying it. The Kyoto Procotol allows for reforestation as well, as does the Chicago Climate Exchange and tens of thousands of scientists around the world have endorsed reforestation as a meaningful way to cut CO2 pollution.

GO: Can you explain that a bit more?

EC: Think of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reforestation all working together, playing distinct roles. Energy efficiency first brings down the demand for energy, then renewable energy ensures that the energy we need is clean and nonpolluting. Finally, reforestation sucks the carbon dioxide that’s already in the air back down and into its roots. It all has to work together.

GO: That’s the best argument for reforestation that I’ve heard yet.

EC: I just perfected that argument, actually.

GO: With so many renewable energy projects going up, how do you make sure yours are additional?

EC: Renewable energy is only 2 percent of our total energy – or, 98 percent of all new electricity generated since 1997 has been nonrenewable. So we can assume that 98 percent of the RECs out there are additional also, because if renewables could have happened without the RECs, we would have more than 2 percent renewables. So most renewable energy can be considered additional.

GO: How many customers does Carbonfund.org have?

EC: Over 22,000 people, plus over 160 companies and nonprofits.

GO: Have you ever been approached by a traditionally unlikely company wanting to buy carbon credits?

EC: Absolutely. We’ve worked with a large trucking company and even a private jet company, for example. These are not your typical “green” companies. They emit a lot of carbon dioxide and so this is a big financial commitment for them. These particular companies also don’t have big advertising budgets to talk about how green they are, so they weren’t just doing it for good PR.

GO: What are the questions people should be ask when looking to offset their carbon emissions?

EC: First, they should make sure that the projects are certified, verified or audited by a third party. At Carbonfund.org, we support Green-e and Environmental Resources Trust (ERT) certified renewable energy projects, our energy efficiency offsets are certified by the Chicago Climate Exchange and ERT. Our reforestation projects and methodologies are audited by ERT (in lieu of a certification standard) and our entire portfolio is audited by ERT to ensure we are offsetting what our supporters are asking us to. Our 2004 audit is up and our combined 2005/06 will be up in the next week.

After making sure the projects are certified, verified or audited, determine the cost per ton of CO2. The Chicago Climate Exchange’s website shows what companies, nonprofits, cities, and the State of New Mexico pay.

After pricing, decide on the project type from which you want to buy the offset, like renewable energy, efficiency, or reforestation.

GO: Speaking of pricing, there’s a lot of talk about why the price of carbon varies so much. Why do different companies charge so differently?

EC: Carbon doesn’t cost a lot and it doesn’t need to be painful. The cost varies according to the type of project. If you want to support solar energy in Seattle, then it’s going to cost you more than a wind farm in Kansas.

At Carbonfund.org, you know exactly what our markup is. Right now, carbon is being sold for $3.50 on the Chicago Climate Exchange. We sell the carbon credits for $5.50, while other companies charge up to $10 or $12 a ton. You’re getting the exact same product but are paying more for it.

GO: So why are some folks paying more for the same carbon credits?

EC: There’s a lack of education out there, and the media is often not clear about how this all works. But I think people are beginning to pay attention and understand it better.

In the end, the real cost of cutting CO2 is less than zero because it’s saving money. For example, you buy an efficient, compact fluorescent light bulb for $5 but you save $40 over its lifetime. So the bulb costs nothing. It is profitable to cut CO2 and we’re going to see more and more individuals and companies taking advantage of that.