Newfie wrote:So.... my 168 acres of forest I’m sitting on, protecting from cutting, does that buy me an indulgence? Am I net carbon positive or negative?
In a rational world with a big CO2 tax, it seems to me it should get you a significant tax credit -- especially if you sign up to protect that land in a trust guaranteeing no major development, as some people do (and get tax benefits for that, though I don't know the details of that).
I suppose that at least someone who gets paid to let loggers take a bunch of trees, at least they pay some tax on the income. But they SHOULD pay a CO2 tax on all those trees lost, unless they replace those trees with new trees.
And I know -- our world isn't anything remotely approaching rational, overall.