El Opinador Compulsivo

Ojo donde ponés tus carbon offsets, Al:

Saving the tropical rain forest is well and good, for cutting down trees in the tropics means less long-term water transfer from soils to the atmosphere, leading to fewer clouds and a warmer planet. But planting trees where none exist in northern areas may actually hasten global warming. Northern tree plantations can trap heat -- they both absorb solar energy and shade sun reflecting snow. This, say the scientists, can apparently overpower the cooling effects of trees soaking up carbon dioxide and storing carbon in growing biomass. Take away the trees in the long-running climate model, and high latitude areas become 0.8 degrees Celsius cooler by the year 2100, when compared to a standard model of North Woods forest density. Carbon-offset plantings there could send the tree line north, worsening global warming.

Fuente: Wall Street Journal