By Frank Hanson

ONRC-Evening Talk-Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. with Bruce Lippke, Professor Emeritus, University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.

The Olympic Natural Resource Center (ONRC) located in Forks at 1455 S. Forks Ave., is fortunate to have Bruce Lippke, Professor Emeritus, School of Environmental and Forest Science of the University of Washington, speak to the community through our Evening Talk series about how to keep fossil emissions out of the atmosphere and policy impacts on those carbon emissions. Bruce was the former director of the Rural Technology Initiative.

The Rural Technology Initiative was a center focused on assisting small forest land owners with multiple resources with their understanding of new research findings and responding to changing environmental regulation. Lippke also was past President Emeritus of CORRIM (The Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials). CORRIM is a 15 University lead research consortium analyzing every environmental impact from using wood. (www.ruraltech.org www.corrim.org)

Professor Lippke’s position is that fossil carbon emissions continue to increase, raising the risk of impacts from climate change on the ocean, vegetation, species habitat and even wildfire. He believes that we have technologies that remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere but most policies fail to use them and cause more harm than good. His position is that current “Carbon Cap and Trade Policies” promote paying tree farmers not to harvest trees for the temporary benefit of a little more growth before maturity.

His research brings him to the position that to reduce carbon accumulations in the atmosphere the farmers should be encouraged to harvest the trees before growth slows down and have them processed into structural products that are used instead of fossil intensive products.

Unlike carbon offset trades, a tax on fossil carbon emissions will increase the price of all products proportional to their fossils emissions, which provides a market advantage for carbon negative alternatives. He believes every tax has income and consumption implications, so we need an option that ensures income tax neutrality.

The Washington I-732 Citizens Initiative to tax fossil carbon emissions will be discussed in relation to its potential to have Washington become a global leader in developing environmental enhancing polices. “Believe it or not that a tax can be good, Professor Lippke is certain that a tax on fossil fuels will promote better use of wood contributing to more jobs and a better economy in rural timber communities.”

Please join us to learn more!

Evening Talks at ONRC is funded through the Rosmond Forestry Education Fund, an endowment that honors the contributions of Fred Rosmond and his family to forestry and the Forks community. Refreshments will be served and a potluck of your favorite dessert is encouraged.

For more information contact: Frank Hanson at 374-4556 or fsh2@uw.edu.