Published: April 11, 2008
By JAMES DAMSCHRODER
The Union Democrat
A battle of words is heating up as environmentalists and the state's largest timber producer countdown the days to a critical state court decision on timber harvesting in California.
ForestEthics and Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch unleashed a report Thursday detailing the potential negative effects of Sierra Pacific Industries' logging practices on global warming.
According to the report, deforestation is second only to fossil fuel emissions in causing greenhouse gas emissions.
"SPI's clear-cutting, and conversion to plantations, has been known for a long time," said Susan Robinson, of EPFW. "However, this report shows for the first time, the magnitude of this destruction and its undeniable impact on global warming."
The environmental groups were beaten to the punch, however, by an SPI-produced report released last week which argued that "intensive forest management" stored carbon at almost twice the rate of an unmanaged forest.
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