Greenpeace warns that industrial logging in Canada’s boreal forests [ark] threatens to turn the country’s vast northern forest into a source of global warming. Greenpeace-Canada diagnoses the problem — Boreal ancient forest logging causes climate change — while being myopic and inconsistent on the solution, insinuating that industrial logging of ancient forests can be done acceptably. Yet we know first-time selective logging of primary forests releases immediately at least 40% of their carbon, while forever dimininishing future carbon holding potential, leaving behind much diminished tree plantations.

Greenpeace wants to have it both ways — highlighting the climate hazard of logging primary forests while actively supporting logging of primary forests by the Forest Stewardship Council. Greenpeace and pals are pimping an out of touch, ecologically bereft message that entirely misses the point that ending ancient forest logging is a necessary keystone step to address climate change as well as biodiversity and ecosystem loss. By failing to take a firm stand, they allow the forest industry to make outrageous claims that their first time logging of ancient primary and old-growth forests benefits the climate.

I fully expect the Canadian Boreal to be the next place where mainstream ancient forest apologists sell out the forests for promise of “certified” or even lesser “ecosystem based” logging as occurred in B.C. Canada. Shame on you Greenpeace!