2011 has been designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Forests. This is because forests play a critical role in protecting the health of our planet, says Danna Smith, executive director of the Dogwood Alliance, a nonprofit that works to protect the country’s southern forests. Wrote Smith in a recent editorial: “From supporting biodiversity to renewing and filtering water supplies, preventing floods, and removing carbon from the atmosphere, forests are essential for life on earth. Yet, despite their immense value, forest destruction is accelerating and today accounts for 20 percent of global carbon emissions. That's more carbon than is released from all the cars on the road. Smith cites a recent report from proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finding that the U.S. leads the world in percentage of forest cover loss, attributing much of that loss to industrial logging in the South, where 2 percent of the world's forests produce about 20% of the world's wood and paper products. Read more [...]