European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 26, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes monday september 26,1988 forests curse now Blessing later in greenhouse peril Washington a Trees Forest upon Forest of them arc being advanced As one of Mankind s Best friends for future efforts to combat global overheating from the greenhouse e  right now however Trees represent one of the Earth s worst enemies. Left alone Trees Are storage sinks that consume Large quantities of Carbon dioxide the worst of the greenhouse gases that scientists say arc collecting in inc atmosphere and trapping heal that once escaped into space. But a tree felled by a logger or consumed by fire is doubly dangerous not Only will it no longer consume Carbon dioxide its death releases stored Carbon dioxide to join the atmospheric accumulation that scientists say will produce major global climate changes in the 2lsl Century. The scientists warnings Are coming Al a time when forests particularly in developing nations arc being destroyed Al record Rales inc Senate Energy and Nat ural resources committee was Lold last week. Focusing on the role of for cols in inc greenhouse equation the committee heard that the headline grabbing Forest fires that ravaged some 4 million acres of the american West this summer were relatively Small potatoes. It is generally agreed thai global deforestation particularly in the tropics accounts for approximately 20 percent of the annual injection of Carbon dioxide into the atmosphere said Daniel Duck senior economist for the environmental defense fund. Annually Forest destruction producing these emissions equals an area slightly larger than the state of Indiana or More than 24.5 million acres he said. This global total dwarfs our own Domestic losses this  David Wirth senior attorney with the natural resources defense Council said that because of massive destruction of forests. Brazil currently ranks third after the United Stales and the Soviel Union in Overall contribution to the car Bon Burden of the  cutting Down tropical forests to bring land into agriculture is especially critical in the Amazon Basin according to Rob Ert Mcneal. Of Nasa s Earth sciences and applications division. If Only half of the Amazon Basin were covered with forests it would absorb 20 percent of the Carbon which is presently released into the atmosphere globally he said. He also said the Basin is the source of about 12 percent of the methane another greenhouse Gas. That reaches the Almo sphere from wetlands. Replacing forests with wetlands or Rice agriculture would Likely mean More methane production in the tropics tic said. Committee witnesses said that unlike the United slates and Europe which actively Plant new Trees to replace har vested forests Many third world Trees Are not replaced. Only a very Small percentage of the world s tropical forests Are being Man aged said Richard Bissell assistant administrator of the . Agency for inter National development which is now stressing resource management to coun tries receiving ils assistance. Planting new forests to absorb Carbon dioxide sounds like a simple solution until its magnitude is considered. Sequestering five gig tons equal to a smoke from Forest fires As of sept 3 -. A $l-$3 Choc too try urls or spec Soutul Cental Awtar service billion tons per year of Carbon from the atmosphere an amount roughly equal to current annual additions would require Between 1.28 billion and 1.65 billion acres of new Plantation forests Duck said by comparison the tout land area of the United states is 2.27 billion  Gregg Marland of the environmental sciences division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory estimated thai under cur rent . Orcsi management practices this nation would need about 4 billion acres of Trees to offset ils emissions of Carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from All sources. The witnesses said a minimum anti greenhouse strategy requires that new sources of Carbon to the atmosphere should be offset by Carbon traps such As new Trees. Marland gave a formula for offsetting Carbon dioxide emissions from a Coal fired 1,000-Mcgawall Power Plant sur round it with sycamores spaced 4 feel apart to a radius of 1 5.3 Miles and har Vest the Trees every four years because younger Recs absorb More Carbon dioxide than mature Trees. Gary Moll vice president of the american forestry association said third world tropical forests Are not the Only places Trees Are being lost. Our Urban forests Are dying he said. A 1987 Survey done by inc association indicated that on average four Urban Trees arc dying or being removed for every new one planted today he said we Esli Maic that there Are some where on the order of 100 million tree spaces in Urban communities where new Trees Are urgently needed Moll said. Planting those Trees could result in a savings of. As much As 18 million ions of Carbon dioxide production a  Dale Robertson chief of the .Fot Cal service said that Trees offer a partial solution to global warming but he sounded an ominous note about the droughts thai scientists say will be part of the greenhouse process. Robertson said the dry years have Nad a serious effect on our Forest resources sparking killer fires weakening seedlings and leaving drought stressed Trees More susceptible to insect attack. A serious potential effect of a change in our world s climate would be changes in Ricc growth and yield Robertson said. Nixon Calls campaigning trivial1 new Yoke. A Richard Ninon says the 1988 Batlle for the presidency has been reduced to the Tri vial superficial and inane As George Bush and Michael Dukakis play to the limitations of television and stress style Over substance. The former president said in an essay published in sunday s editions of new Day that serious speeches by Republican nominee Bush and Democrat Dukakis on the Economy and foreign policy have received relatively Little attention from the electronic Media. They have found thai the surest Way they could make the evening news was to be silly irresponsible or both he said. Television commentators Burcal ulessly inform us Hal Bush cals pork rinds and that Dukakis has a 25 year old Snow  Nixon also predicted thai the debates Between Bush and Dukakis starting with the one sunday night in Winston Salem . Will have the biggest Impact on inc election in the history of presid Colial debates. After what happened to me in the 1960 debates i consider myself an expert on what not to do Nixon said. Political analysis have said that a nervous Haggard looking Nixon was out pointed by an assured Authon native John f. Kennedy who gamed in Public opinion polls after the debates and squeaked to a win in the general election. Nixon said the candidates should not gel bogged Down in facts and must remember that How he looks is More important than what he  it Means being Strong but not belligerent confident but not  he wrote. Above All a candidate should be presidential which Means avoiding Petty cheap shots at his  he suggested that Bush and Dukakis avoid Clever one liners because most of their audience already will have heard them before and might think inc Candi dates arc being patronizing. Try to educate the voters but Don t talk Down to them. Always remember that people arc smarter than you think they Are and Many of them Are smarter than you arc tic said. . Pacific Island populations soar Washington a populations of the Pacific islands under . Jurisdiction Are skyrocketing bul departures Are holding Down growth in puerto Rico the census Bureau reported sunday. Leading in growth was the Island of Guam where net immigration helped boost population sharply. Both military personnel and civilian workers from the Philippines have helped increase Guam s Popula Tion inc report said. Between 1980 and 1987, the population of Guam jumped by 24,400, or 23.1 percent to 130,400, the Cen sus Bureau said. Of the increase 5,200 were immigrants. The Northern Mariana islands were second in growth. Increasing 21.1 percent to a local of 20,300 people last year. This increase was largely from births however. And american Samoa added 19 percent to its Popula Tion to climb to 38,400, also due to an increase in births. The . Virgin islands reported population growth of 9.b percent to a 1987 total of 106,100 people. Natural increase overcame Lite departure of 4,400 people to keep growth ahead of the . National average of 7.4 percent. That was not the Case however with puerto Rico where the departure of 227,000 residents Between 1980 and 1987 held the islands s Overall growth to just 3.0 percent during inc period. Puerto Rico s total population was 3,292,000 Lisl year up 95,000 from the 1980 census. Climbing the ladder the Chr Edwards Brothers climb their three lad Ders to do their on Joh painting i Bowse in Corid ton i. The brothels Are from left Steve Daniel and Joseph. They own a painting company