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Q: Is global warming real?

A: Global warming and the climate crisis are real. The facts are not in controversy.
  • The climate is undergoing a pronounced warming trend beyond the range of natural variability;
  • The major cause of most of the observed warming is rising levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2);
  • The rise in CO2 is anthropogenic, resulting from human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels;
  • If CO2 continues to rise over the next century, the warming will continue; and
  • Unless emissions are brought under control, a climate change of the projected magnitude over this time frame represents catastrophic danger to human welfare and the environment, including famine, floods and other ecological disasters.

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Q: How well established is the greenhouse effect theory?

A: The greenhouse effect theory is over 100 years old. The first predictions of anthropogenic global warming ("AGW") were made in 1896 and time has only strengthened and refined those groundbreaking conclusions. Every major institute that deals with climate-related science is saying AGW is here, real and dangerous, even though they will not remove the "very likely" and "strongly indicated" qualifiers. Scientists have decades of very detailed and sophisticated climate observations, but you will never get a purely scientific source saying "the future is certain."

The translation of what science is saying into the language of the public is this: Global warming is definitely happening and it is definitely because of human activities and it will definitely continue as long as CO2 keeps rising in the atmosphere. We don't have time or reason to wait. We need to take action now.
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Q: Is there consensus about global warming?

A: The world's most authoritative voice on climate change, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has declared that the evidence of a warming trend is "unequivocal" and has specifically stated humans as a major source of rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. The IPCC reports represent the most comprehensive compilation and summary of current climate research ever attempted, and arguably the most thoroughly peer reviewed scientific document in history. The conclusions reached by the IPCC have been explicitly endorsed by virtually every national acacemy and scientific institution in the world, including the National Academy of Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences, NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies. National Academy of Sciences, among dozens of others.
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Q: What are the primary sources of CO2?

A: The primary sources of CO2 and greenhouse gases are fossil fuel power plants (primarily coal), factories, deforestation, automobiles and transport.
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Q: What is a carbon footprint?

A: Your estimated annual carbon dioxide footprint is the sum of the carbon dioxide that is produced by your home energy use, auto transportation, and air travel.
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Q: How long does CO2 stay in the air?

A: The greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, stays in the atmosphere for 500 years after it is emitted.
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Q: How much of the world is forested?

A: Forests cover 30 percent of the planet's total land area. The total forested area in 2005 was just under 4 billion hectares, at least one third less than before the dawn of agriculture, some 10,000 years ago. (1 hectare is equal to 10,000 square metres).
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Q: How much CO2 do trees absorb and store?

A: Trees are vital carbon sinks (they absorb CO2) and remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they release. The rate of carbon dioxide that a tree absorbs (the sequestration rate) greatly varies between regions, with tropical forests being the most efficient in absorbing carbon dioxide. For example, in the lower Mississippi River Valley, on a per planted tree basis, each tree absorbs an average of approximately 1.33 tons of carbon dioxide over 100 years. In the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, on a per planted tree basis, each tree absorbs an average of approximately _ tons of carbon dioxide over 100 years. Sequestration rates are based on scientific research conducted by third party experts and vary depending on species of tree and geographic location. Calculations assume average sequestration rates per acre of land reforested and always include appropriate tree survival assumptions.

It is estimated that the world's forests store 283 Gigatonnes of carbon in their biomass alone, and that carbon stored in forest biomass, deadwood, litter and soil together is roughly 50 per cent more than the carbon in the atmosphere.
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Q: What is my carbon footprint?

A: The average American is responsible for emitting approximately 23 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.
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Q: Is planting trees an effective way to fight climate change?

A: Yes. It must be included as part of a broader climate change strategy. Estimates are that as much as 50% of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide over the last 50 years may be due to the effects of land use change. Thus, restoring forestland represents a natural way to reverse these effects and combat climate change. As trees grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in living plant tissue. Reforestation of once-forested, but currently degraded and unproductive areas such as marginal agricultural lands is a recognized and proven way to sequester carbon.

According to a recent study by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, climate change policies should include storage of carbon dioxide in forests. “Climate change is the major global environmental challenge of our time and in order to deal with it in the most cost-effective way, we need to consider the full range of solutions – and that includes carbon storage in forests,” said Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. “If we ignore the potential for forest-based sequestration, any projection of the costs and feasibility of addressing climate change is going to be overly pessimistic and wrong.”
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Q: How much carbon dioxide does one tree absorb?

A: Sequestration rates are based on scientific research conducted by third party experts and vary depending on species of tree and geographic location. Calculations assume average sequestration rates per acre of land reforested and always include appropriate tree survival assumptions.

The rate of carbon dioxide that a tree absorbs greatly varies from regions, with tropical rainforests being the most efficient in absorbing carbon dioxide. For example, in the lower Mississippi River Valley, on a per planted tree basis, each tree absorbs an average of approximately 1.33 tons of carbon dioxide over 100 years. In the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, on a per planted tree basis, each tree absorbs an average of approximately _ tons of carbon dioxide over 100 years.
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Q: Besides sequestering and capturing carbon, what are the additional benefits to planting trees?

A: In addition to sequestering carbon, planting trees provide numerous additional environmental benefits. Trees quite literally form the foundations of many natural ecosystems and help to:

conserve soil and water resources
prevent desertification
stabilize degraded lands
restore wildlife habitat
improve air and water quality
enhance recreation areas

Trees also play a vital role in the daily life of rural communities. They provide sources of timber, fuel wood, food, fodder, medicines and shade. Lastly, many trees have communal benefits, especially for the poor, and ownership, access and use rights are as important as the number of trees.
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Q: Is planting trees more effective than growing biofuels?

A: The EPA estimates that growing a Douglas Fir forest for about a century is 25% to 50% more efficient at reducing carbon dioxide buildup than using an equivalent amount of land to grow biofuels. In other words, if you grow switch grass hay to produce electricity you will allow roughly 25% to 50% more carbon dioxide to remain in the atmosphere than if you had planted a forest of Douglas Firs on the same amount of acreage and used coal to make electricity.
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Q: Where should trees be planted as a priority?

A: Favourable growing conditions give nations in the southern hemisphere, primarily Brazil, an advantage over most industrial countries in the economics of wood production. Plantations in the south can produce 10–20 cubic metres of wood per hectare per year, considerably more than plantations in most northern temperate regions and 10–20 times the typical productivity of natural forests worldwide.
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Q: Why not just plant a tree in my backyard?

A: You should. However, to be most effective, the United Nations encourages the planting of trees in four key areas, namely: (i) degraded natural forests and wilderness areas; (ii) farms and rural landscapes; (iii) sustainably managed plantations; and (iv) urban environments. Trees have to be well adapted to local conditions, and the mixtures of species are preferred over monocultures.
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Q: What percent of of human caused carbon dioxide emissions does deforestation account for?

A: Deforestation accounts for 20% of our carbon dioxide emissions.
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Q: What percent of the carbon market accounts for reforestation?

A: Currently it is 2%.
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Q: Why are the Atlantic Forests and Amazon Rainforests considered the Lungs of the World?

A: The Atlantic and Amazon forests produce 20% of the world's oxygen. And that is with 93% of the Atlantic Forest destroyed!
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Q: How much does it cost Instituto Terra to plant a tree?

A: Instituto Terra works very hard to keep the costs of environmental recovery low. Typically, it costs $2 to grow and plant a seedling. Factors that affect the cost of reforestation include species diversity, density of trees planted per acre, and the method of recovery.
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Q: What was the 1,505 acre reserve before it became Instituto Terra?

A: The 1,505 acre reserve that is now known as Instituto Terra was once the Bulcao Farm, operated by the Salgado parents for cattle grazing. Like most of the farm land in this region of Brazil, the land was stripped of its trees and grass was planted in its place. As a result, the loss of Atlantic Forest drove millions of species of animals and plants to extinction, native civilizations were lost, rivers and springs soon dried up, the climate changed to more arid and dessert like, and massive erosion and environmental destruction started.
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Q: How many trees are planted per hectare?

A: Instituto Terra plants 2,500 trees per hectare. This amount of tree planting provides the following benefits:
  • Faster soil covering;
  • Decreased maintenance time by planting the trees closer together;
  • Increased recycling of nutrients in the soil;
  • More effective water infiltration in the soil; and
  • Better organic production.

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Q: How many species of trees are planted per hectare?

A: Instituto Terra only plants trees that are original to the Atlantic Forest. Instituto Terra operates under the philosophy that the best solution for environmental recovery is to bring the land back as close to its original composition and density as possible – in essence, rebuilding the Atlantic Forest. To accomplish this task, the Institute plants on average a minimum of 100 native and uniquely different species per hectare. The workers continually monitor each species to determine which ones grow and flourish the best at Instituto Terra.
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Q: Besides the reforestation activities, what else happens at the Instituto Terra?

A: Instituto Terra is a busy place. The grounds are open for visitors to come and see this amazing oasis of rainforest in the middle of a completely degraded region. Instituto Terra is full of beautiful gardens, birds and animals, natural springs and ponds, and hundreds of students to environmental experts studying the phenomenona happening on the land because of the reforestation activities such as natural springs reappearing and animals once thought to be extinct returning.

Instituto Terra arranges for approximately 375 grade school students to come every day for one week each month to learn about protecting the environment, recycling, waste management, birds and animals, and environmental recovery. Teachers come and stay at the Institute to lead classes from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. and facilitate evening activities for the whole family. These children are called the Terrinhas and each are selected by their school to learn at the Institute and come back and teach their new knowledge to their classmates. Thus, every child in each of the 16 local schools learns from the Terrinhas project.

Instituto Terra is also home to the Advanced Center, an environmental educational center where 10 Brazilian students from local agro-high schools are chosen to live and study at the Advanced Center for 2 years at no cost to the student. The students originate often from families in which they would not have the opportunity to attend any school after high school.
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Q: When was Instituto Terra founded?

A: Instituto Terra was founded in 1998 by Sebastião Salgado and Lélia Deluiz Wanick Salgado. The first planting season was in 1999.
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Q: What assurance do I have that the trees will not be cut down?

A: Instituto Terra is the first Private Reserve of the Natural Property, created in a degraded area of the Atlantic Forest on October 7th, 1998 by a Governmental Decree IEF/MG # 081. This decree acts as a conservation easement protecting the forest from being logged or cut down.
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Q: Where does my donation go?

A: Your donation to Instituto Terra goes towards its reforestation and education (environmental training program) efforts. Voluntarily on an annual basis, Instituto Terra undergoes a rigorous audit of its financials. Click here for the latest audit.
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Q: Are there larger reforestation projects in the Atlantic Forest?

A: No. Instituto Terra is the largest reforestation project in the Atlantic Forest. It partners with over 60 other entities around the world to share expertise, research findings, and support. Instituto Terra partners with several other Non-Governmental Organizations in Brazil and schools and universities in Brazil and the U.S. who send students to Instituto Terra to do environmental studies.
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Q: Are the forests disappearing and does that impact global emissions?

A: Yes. Carbon in forest biomass decreased in Africa, Asia and South America in the period 1990-2005. For the world as a whole, carbon stocks in forest biomass decreased annually by 1.1 Gigatonne of carbon (equivalent to 4 billion 25kg sacks of charcoal). Forests are the most important repositories of terrestrial biological biodiversity, housing up to 90 per cent of known terrestrial species. Scientists estimate 50-60 percent of plant and animal species found in the Atlantic Forest are only found in that region alone. The loss of natural forests around the world contributes more to global emissions each year than the transport sector. Curbing deforestation is a highly cost-effective way to reduce emissions. Other solutions include increased energy efficiency, reduced energy demand, better transport and the use of green energy.
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Q: Could deforestation affect weather globally?

A: Yes. “Up to thirty percent of the rain that falls in tropical forests is water that the rainforest has recycled into the atmosphere. Water evaporates from the soil and vegetation, condenses into clouds, and falls again as rain in a perpetual self-watering cycle. In addition to maintaining tropical rainfall, the evaporation cools the Earth’s surface. In many computer models of future climate, replacing tropical forests with a landscape of pasture and crops creates a drier, hotter climate in the tropics. Some models also predict that tropical deforestation will disrupt rainfall pattern far outside the tropics, including China, northern Mexico, and the south-central United States.” Source: NASA
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