“If every flooring consumer in the United States purchased product with a Eco-

Promise, of planting nine (9) trees per order, together we could plant 486,000,000
trees, covering 810,001.61 acres, absorbing 12,150,000 tons of greenhouse gases –
every year”
Background
Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's
near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes, "most of the observed
increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very
likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas
concentrations"1 via the greenhouse effect. Anthropogenic effects, processes,
objects, or materials are those that are derived from human activities, as opposed
to those occurring in natural environments without human influences. A scientific
consensus holds that man-made carbon dioxide is the primary factor driving climate
change 1'. This means such activities as flying, driving, eating red meat, non-
sustainable forestry practices and pretty much anything that burns gasoline adds
harmful carbon compounds into the atmosphere.Solutions
Either one can slow the rate of increase of greenhouse gasses and/or one can
actually focus on reducing the total amount. Slowing the increase means flying
less, driving less, carpooling, eating less red meat, purchasing products produced
locally, buying energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs, lowering the
thermostat and purchasing renewable power. Reducing greenhouse gasses means
planting trees in a certain way. There is experimentation with adding iron
particles to the oceans but this approach is not yet scientifically proven to
work.TREE-PLANTING PROGRAMS FOR CARBON SEQUESTRATION
Some companies have taken the approach towards funding reforestation as a way of
'going green' by offsetting the carbon they use. The major question businesses
have is: 'What type of reforestation program maximizes carbon sequestration and
overall positive publicity while minimizing potential negative backlash and
cost?'First, companies need to know that it is impossible to generically link the
planting of a tree to 'x' amount of carbon sequestration. As of June, 2007,
forestry science studies in carbon sequestration related to trees simply indicate
the following:

According to the US Forest Service, large diameter, long-lived, leafy trees tend
to be the most beneficial in regards to carbon sequestration. This is why
Atlanta's 9 million-plus (predominantly mature, broad-leafed) trees soak-up 46,345
tons of carbon each year but Calgary, Canada's nearly 12 million trees (many
conifers) only sequester 21,422 tons per year.

Tree species is a strong determining factor regarding carbon sequestration. Trees

vary between being fast or slow in storing carbon... and tree species also vary in
how much they output harmful volatile organic compounds (VOC's) such as isoprene,
which produces the greenhouse gas ozone. Therefore, one needs to select a tree
species that rapidly sequesters carbon but which also does not have a high output
of VOC's. In the United States, American basswood, dogwood, Eastern white pine,
Eastern red cedar, gray birch, red maple and river birch are some of the tree
species with these characteristics.
One study indicates that generally speaking, trees planted closer to the equator
sequester more carbon than those planted far to the North. It is unclear if this
is because the more Southern tree species are more likely to be large diameter,
long-lived, leafy trees or for other reasons.
In another study in Hawaii, it was found that when eucalyptus was interspersed
with the mimosa, it performed better at absorbing carbon. This appears to be
because the mimosa added nitrogen to the soil. Thus, 'mixing' trees in some cases
may increase carbon sequestration amounts as would simply planting trees in
nitrogen-rich soil as it makes trees grow faster and thus more effective at
storing carbon.
Research indicates that trees growing in sunlight as opposed to shade have greater
emissions of VOC's.
The use of power tools and vehicles in maintaining certain trees increases carbon
dioxide into the air.
Long-lived trees (those that will likely live more than 50 years) are preferred by
the Forest Service for carbon sequestration as dead trees rot - releasing all of
the carbon that has been stored.
ABOUT VENCON USA LLC (www.venconusa.com)
Started in 1989, VENCON specializes in "GREEN" hardwood, laminate and cork
flooring products from quality manufacturers in Europe. All VENCON flooring is
glue less and can be installed easily by the Do-It-Yourselfer. Additionally, all
flooring is environmentally responsible and manufactured using the patented
Uniclic or Valinge glue less locking system