Page 30 - Georgia Forestry - Winter 2020

T here are obvious forest products that we rely on every day — the paper we print
on, the cardboard boxes that deliver our
online purchases, the lumber we build our homes with. But there are others, like nanocellulose (a byproduct of the pulping process) in our cellphone and computer screens, and wood pellets (a byproduct of the sawmill process) that can be used for heating, cooking and power. What these forest products have in common is that they all sequester carbon that was captured while the tree was growing, which helps mitigate carbon emissions throughout the products’ life cycle.
W e may not see working forests in our daily routines. Our commutes might not be on
highways lined with seemingly endless
rows of trees. Our homes might be in suburban developments. Yet, no matter where in Georgia
we live, we all directly benefit from and heavily rely on our state’s working forests and forest products industry
for our everyday survival, comfort and progress. And, as consumers, our preference for forest products over plastics or other less-sustainable alternatives helps ensure that our 22 million acres of forestland continue to provide the myriad benefits — both economic and environmental — of our state’s most abundant and most sustainable natural resource.
ALAN MOTHNER IS A FORMER NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PHOTOJOURNALIST WHOSE WORK FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AND REUTERS NEWS AGENCY HAS BEEN FEATURED IN MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
28 | GEORGIA FORESTRY
PHOTO BY STEPHEN B. MORTON