On the Northern California coast, Van Eck Forest is where celebs and politicians like Arnold Schwartzenegger purchase their carbon offsets. But pretty soon, the 2200 acre forest will be open to normal people like you and me.
That's because it's been found that older trees capture and store carbon more quickly than younger trees. So the trees in Van Eck will be allowed to grow larger than those in conventionally-managed forests, so they can can capture more carbon and be sold as carbon offsets. This is a big deal, considering the depletion of forests is the second largest cause of CO2 emissions.
The only issue? The business of carbon credits is an unregulated one (which is why offset websites will often give you two different prices for your carbon-producing habits), so there's no way to guarantee what you're actually buying.
Well, until now. The Van Eck Forest is one of only two forests that is certified by the Registry of Forest Standards, which is setting up strict regulations to manage carbon credits and make sure that the businesses involved are of high quality. Hopefully the standards process will be the norm in the near future.
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