CONSERVATION CORNER
Entergy, The Carbon Fund and MSU Partner For Climate Change
by James L. Cummins

One hundred acres of land along the Mississippi River near Greenville and near Cleveland has recently been transformed into the fight against climate change. Personnel from The Carbon Fund (www.thecarbonfund.org) and Entergy planted over 33,000 hardwood trees in a partnership to use carbon sequestration to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound found in the earth's atmosphere that acts as a greenhouse gas (GHG). A certain amount of it in the atmosphere is good because it shields the earth, holding in heat from the suns rays. However, if there is too much of it in the atmosphere, heat cannot be released. Most scientists agree excessive levels of carbon dioxide and other GHGs in the atmosphere are causing a gradual rise in the temperature of the earth's climate. Carbon sequestration helps mitigate this effect by storing the carbon dioxide instead of allowing it to remain in the atmosphere. Hardwood trees help fight climate change because they absorb carbon dioxide from the air during photosynthesis and store it.

The project is also part of a broad-based effort to study the most cost-efficient method for planting bottomland hardwood trees in the Lower Mississippi Valley. More and more landowners are converting marginal cropland into forest land. Researchers from Mississippi State University's Forestry Department will conduct long-term research on the area to determine the most cost-efficient planting method and to study how planting methods can affect the ultimate economic recovery of the initial investment. As the trees mature, these researchers will study which types of wildlife make their home in this new habitat.

The Carbon Fund finances and promotes the protection, restoration and enhancement of forests all over the world through carbon sequestration, an important tool in managing global climate change. The Carbon Fund promotes the creation of carbon assets through the restoration of native habitats throughout the world in a manner that encourages the protection, restoration and enhancement of fish, wildlife and plant resources.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $10 billion and has approximately 14,000 employees.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi. Their web site is www.wildlifemiss.org.