We have noticed that as new scientific papers appear in the evolving field of climate change it can be easy to get confused about the difference between carbon uptake and carbon storage.
We, and many others have pointed out in numerous scientific papers, reports, letters, blogs, and other outlets the fact that there is more carbon [...]

Peatlands and wetlands store around one third of the world’s terrestrial carbon.
Credit: Garth Lenz
While the subject of peat may not conjure up the most passionate of responses from your average Joe, its global significance in the role of climate stability is undeniable.
Peatlands, traditionally wet accumulations of partially decayed vegetation which can someplaces be over ten feet thick, store exorbitant [...]

Intact  natural  forests are vital to climate regulation.
Credit: Garth Lenz
Until quite recently, a major factor increasing global warming problems had been largely ignored in the debates and discussions around climate change and what to do about it.
Emissions from land-use change, which mainly come from industrial development such as logging, mining, peat extraction and draining, and [...]

The boreal forest circles the northern hemisphere like a “green scarf”
Credit: Global Forest Watch
The boreal forest is back in the news again for its increasingly recognized ability to absorb and store massive amounts of carbon. In addition to being an enormous breeding region for migratory birds, boreal forests are vitally important in efforts to mitigate [...]

I recently did a radio interview with Robin Young on her daily show Here and Now, on Boston public radio WBUR 90.9 FM. I mostly discussed the global importance of boreal forests and peatlands and their ability to sequester and store massive ammounts of carbon, but also mentioned some birds have adapted well to peatlands, [...]

One of our colleagues, Chris Henschel of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), has been running around the madness in the Copenhagen climate talks trying to increase the pressure on developed countries to set more ambitious goals on forest management. Forests, peatlands, and other natural ecosystems store tons of carbon, but this carbon is easily [...]

North Shore of Lake Ontario
Credit: Garth Lenz
While still largely undervalued as an important part of slowing climate change, forests are starting to get some of the international attention they’ve been owed for years. There have been increasing numbers of stories in the media and online about how important protecting forests are for our climate, and [...]

Leaders, scientists, and other experts will be travelling to Copenhagen next week to work on building an international climate agreement to lessen the escalation of climate change. While commonly-known sources like transportation, production, and manufacturing will be hot topics, it’s important that those at the table also recognize the importance of another large source of [...]

Triangle Lake in northern Ontario
Credit: Jeff Wells 
I wrote last week about our report we released titled “The Carbon the World Forgot“, referring to the boreal forest, of course. You can read that post for more specifics in terms of the amount of carbon the boreal forest stores and why keeping it intact will be vital [...]

Carbon-rich wetlands in the Northwest Territories
Credit: Chad Delany, Ducks Unlimited
Today we are releasing a joint-produced report along with the Canadian Boreal Initiative about climate change and the boreal forest. Being one of the authors, I thought I would share with you some of the more interesting findings. Overall, we report that boreal forests store more [...]