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Restoring wetlands

One of the points that we try to make over and over is that there's nothing we'd recommend to fight global warming that doesn't have other benefits. Here's a nice, and near-ish, example: the Wetlands Initiative, along with other environmental groups, is doing a wetlands restoration project in Hennepin, IL, with the goal of showing that converting farmland back to wetlands can be an effective tool for improving water quality, improving wildlife habitat, providing recreational opportunities, and trapping carbon dioxide.

I think that we're about to enter a revolution in how we understand the potential of ecosystems to provide valuable services. On a large scale, wetlands like this are going to cease to be an impediment to development, and instead will be seen as a crucial component--a cost-effective way of responsible growth. And, as in the past, the cost-effective route will lead to a cultural shift in how we perceive the relationship between people and our environment. Of course, to do this, we need good rules, that require heightened environmental performance.

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on June 26, 2007 8:15 AM.

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