Could Utah do Its Part in Afforestation?

   The unsolved mystery. 

   There was that famous report in 2019 from the Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich, saying 0.9 billion hectacres could be forested. That's an area the size of the United States. That's enough space to plant a trillion trees. That's enough to capture 32 percent of all human carbon emissions since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. It's enough that -- if it is true -- it is perhaps the greatest single thing that could be done to combat climate change.

   But, wait, how much of that could be done in Utah? How much land is available here?  I did go to the crowtherlab.com website, hoping an interactive map that could answer the question. Alas, the map listed tree varieties that could be planted here, but didn't identify how much land is available, nor how many trees could be planted.

   That mystery remains unsolved. 

   Utah has about 7.6 billion trees. Would there be room for, say, 3 billion more?

   And, if yes, could we -- with all our drought -- have enough water to raise them? It is said forests actually attract more water. Is that true?

   Next up: Perhaps I will have to check with the Arbor Foundation, or with the Trillion Tree Campaign. 

(Index -- Climate change info)