Forest restoration efforts along the Mississippi help absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
changing around us. Addressing sea- level rise and creating more protective green buffers along our shorelines— these are urgent, nonnegotiable actions, and there seems to be real consensus in the country that this is what we need to do. But we don’t just want to survive.
When did you make the connection between land conservation and climate change? In college I read Bill McKibben’s The End of Nature. It had such an impact on me that I sold the gas guzzler I was driving and committed to some major changes in my own life. Back then, in the late ’80s, most of
us were focused on the connection between climate and emissions from smokestacks and tailpipes. It wasn’t until later that I learned that forests take so much carbon out of the atmo- sphere. That’s when it dawned on me that conserving forests was actually a critical climate strategy.
How so? Forests in this country—not tropical forests, not international, but just U.S. forests—absorb about 12 percent of all the carbon that we emit every year. So every time we conserve a for- est, we’re protecting the planet’s abil- ity to act like a sponge and suck up all that carbon that our cars and factories put into the atmosphere. For example: In the rich bottom-
land hardwood forests of the Mis- sissippi—what some people call the North American Amazon—we’re restoring forests that were cleared for agriculture decades ago. As it turns out, it’s not good agricultural land
because it floods. So we’re acquiring properties from private landowners, replanting and restoring the native forests, and returning them to the public. Within 70 years, when the forest matures, it will end up absorb- ing up to 350 tons of carbon dioxide per acre, ultimately keeping millions of tons out of the atmosphere.
What about cities? How does urban conservation fit into the picture? Our work in cities promotes a more energy-efficient country. Making cities livable, attractive places is an effective climate strategy in and of itself. People who live in urban areas produce dramatically less carbon than people who live in far-flung areas: they drive less; they live in smaller, more energy-efficient spaces and so forth. And with access to walking and biking corridors—like those The Trust for Public Land helps create— they’re more inclined to use carbon- free transportation. But as Superstorm Sandy reminded us, cities are uniquely vulnerable to the extreme weather that climate change is creating. If we’re going to attract more people to cities, how do we ensure that they’re safe? We’ve built our cities in certain places, and now the environment is
We want to thrive. A key question for our work moving forward is: how do we stack more public benefits onto a single site? Putting parkland along the water’s edge doesn’t just create a safety buffer between people and the sea, it creates a beautiful place for families to go and relax. Parks make vulnerable coastal cities more attrac- tive, more livable, and safer, all at the same time.
What inspires you most about your work? I am most inspired when I see people so happy to get out on the parks and trails that we’ve created. I’m now working in Washington, D.C., and it’s the first time I’ve lived in the city for a sustained period. I enjoy city living, but it’s a big change and it’s not always easy. I now know what it means for kids to finally have a safe place to play in their neighborhood, or for people to be able to walk along the waterfront that they’ve lived next to all of their lives but have never had access to. I can’t stop picturing the looks of joy on my neighbors’ faces when they come to a park opening. So that’s what I find the most soul- stirring about my job. And when I think about adding a climate dimen- sion to that work—building parks that make these cities more climate-smart, that make them safer places to live—I couldn’t be more excited to get up in the morning and get to work.
FIRST LOOK · 21
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