FROM: ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE.ORG
Vol. XXXII, No. 1 -- January 2001
How a Carbon Market Took Shape Atop a California Redwood Tree
Julia Butterfly Hill represents the purest breed of environmental activist.
She spent two years atop a giant redwood tree defending it against loggers.
Enduring storms and snowfalls, she finally prevailed upon the timber
company to preserve the stand of 1000-year-old trees.
So why has this environmental "saint" now embraced market methods?
While still in the tree, the 26-year-old Hill helped start a carbon
sequestration company, Carbon Trading and Trust. The idea is to create
monetary
value for the carbon that is stored in trees and soil, so that less is released to
the atmosphere as heat-trapping carbon dioxide.
Hill's company has signed an agreement protecting redwoods in California
and is now raising money to create a vital elephant corridor in Sri Lanka.
She spoke with us shortly before the recent climate conference in The
Hague.
Q: Should we assign monetary value to ecosystems?
A: It's a very touchy subject to bring money into ecology. People are upset
because they see that our economy has been feeding off our natural life
support system. But the reality is our world functions with money. We
need to financially reward carbon sequestration and other natural systems
that purify our land, air and water.
Q: Should we reward big business for engaging in carbon sequestration?
A: Yes, we should. Because right now we give subsidies. The Clinton
administration has spent $1.2 billion logging forests on public land. What
are we thinking? We need to change our values, and we will. The carbon
economy is likely to reach $10 billion in the next decade.
Q: What are the risks of carbon sequestration?
A: Some corporations are jumping on the bandwagon and saying that
cutting down old-growth forests and planting tree farms is great for the
environment and ought to count as carbon sequestration. A tree farm is not
a forest! The first thing in carbon sequestration is conservation. A native
forest has phenomenal value as a carbon sink.
Q: What would you like to see come out of the climate conferences?
A: We need independent watchdogs for carbon sequestration. Laws are only
as good as enforcement and we must make sure that the landowners getting
the money are the ones doing it right. I am optimistic. With independent
monitoring by scientists and local groups, we're going to see a radical shift
in how people do business. Our economy will finally begin to reflect the
values necessary for life on earth.
 
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