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Forest
Supporting human and forest health

The health of forests and their owners are directly connected, an insight that has generated an innovative Oregon program to increase forest carbon.

The program is the Forest Health Human Health Initiative, put together by Catherine Mater of Pinchot Institute for Conservation.

Mater looked at studies indicating that one of the most likely reasons family forest owners would sell their land is to pay for health care expenses of aging family members.  So she devised a plan through which forest owners can sell the carbon accumulation of their forests into carbon emissions offset systems.  In return, money is deposited in accounts to pay the health care of owners.

Read the article from the Corvallis Gazette-Times.

Author Bio

A founding member of the Climate Solutions team, Patrick developed the knowledge base for much of Climate Solutions’ advocacy work and helped shape the sustainability and clean tech agenda of key policymakers, researchers and business leaders around the Northwest. Patrick served as Research Director until the end of 2013, and has now moved on to work through his independent global sustainability consultancy, MROC, and serves as 350 Seattle Sustainable Solutions Working Group co-facilitator and member of its governing Hub.

His series of papers on clean-energy technology and Northwest economic opportunity from 1998-2002 helped catalyze the past decade’s wave of policy activity and investment in the clean economy sector.

Patrick also co-authored Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change (New Society, 2001) with Guy Dauncey.

Patrick likes to spend his free time walking, reading history, and playing music. He lives in Seattle and ventures south regularly to sing in a Portland rock band. 

Patrick's email is cascadia2012 (at) gmail.com

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