The United States Forest Service will collaborate with the National Forest Foundation in a new program that allows people to offset their carbon-dioxide emissions by making donations that pay for trees to be planted, reports the Associated Press.
Trees metabolize carbon dioxide, and the 155 national forests suck up 10 percent of carbon dioxide released in the United States, the article reports.
The Forest Service hopes to raise that number to 25 percent through the Carbon Capital Fund. Every $6 donated will absorb approximately one ton of gas. Carbon dioxide is a major contributor to global warming.
The new effort will begin in Custer National Forest in Montana and South Dakota and Payette National Forest in Idaho.
The National Forest Foundation, in Missoula, Mont., raises private money to help protect the federal government’s forests.
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