To the editor:
On March 26th, Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law a new era of Climate Policy with a mandate to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
By 2030, just over eight years from now, the goal is for a 50 percent reduction from the state levels of 1990. Massachusetts needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions by balancing what is put into the atmosphere from what is removed.
We can alter our energy resources, improve building methods, install higher-efficiency appliances and switch to electric vehicles to minimize our carbon emissions. On Earth Day, April 22, President Joe Biden pledged the federal government to match this reduction of greenhouse gas pollution.
Carbon emissions can be reduced by sequestration, which is the process of removing harmful carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon is stored in the soil and released when the soil is dramatically disturbed by construction projects and by modern farming techniques.
One of the most effective ways to keep carbon right where it belongs is to keep vegetation. About 30 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted globally is absorbed by natural vegetation. Trees are a key element to carbon sequestration.
Starting in Colonial times, trees were removed for home building, heat and farmland. Lynnfield and New England retired its farming days a number of generations ago and heating our homes is done by adjusting a dial on the wall, or an app with a smartphone. Our forests regenerated and rewarded us by tempering winter weather and providing cooling summer breezes. In Lynnfield, our trees and forests lower air pollution and raise our property values. Thank you, trees!
Instead of observing trees from the windows of our homes, our view is most likely to be vegetation that is only three inches tall — a lawn. Today, trees removed in Lynnfield are not being planted with apple orchards or for raising dairy cows; now we are farming the lawn.
These areas are ecosystem wastelands compared to trees and forested areas, which store 17 to 20 times the amount of carbon as grassland. If we returned only half the lawn in the United States back to native vegetation, we would create 20 million acres to sustain the planet.
At the local level, we can make a long-term investment in the carbon dioxide emission goals of the Commonwealth. Lynnfield has the opportunity to acquire Richardson Green on upper Main Street.
As a relatively young forest left undisturbed, this large parcel can actively sequester carbon for another 250-400 years. Forests also create critical biodiversity that purifies water, controls pollution and enriches our wildlife habitat.
The Planning Board will present a tree preservation bylaw at the next Town Meeting. Although the scope of this bylaw is limited, it captures essential aspects of preservation and the lessening of the carbon-emitting effects of new construction by designating a “tree border.”
Both have a direct influence on climate change and carbon sequestration. This “safe” area would recognize the importance of keeping trees greater than 6 feet because large, old trees are significantly more valuable. For example, a 30-foot tree removes 70 times more pollutants than a 3-foot-tall tree. Trees are measured in biomass and the larger the tree, the greater the carbon sequestering capability it provides.
Supporting both of these measures — the Richardson Green purchase and the tree preservation bylaw — will have a profound effect on this generation in the immediate future and for generations to come.
The science of global warming is clear. With few options to capture the harmful effects of carbon, it is paramount we acknowledge the critical role trees and woodlands play by harnessing their power in curtailing climate change.
Beth Aaronson
Jane Bandini
Lynnfield
