Educator debunks dangerous myth about US national forests: 'Numbers are way off'

A TikTok science account took the time to debunk claims about our national forests and their ability to help reduce carbon pollution. 

TikToker Logic & Liberty (@logicnliberty) replied to a comment breaking down their beliefs on how trees and greenery absorb carbon and how that rate of absorption exceeds the amount of carbon produced by pollution. 

@logicnliberty Replying to @ericklawitter330 All comments that aren't productive will be deleted. Any comment that is simple-minded will deleted Any misinformation will be deleted. #climate #epa #wildlife #environment #carbon #co2 #science ♬ original sound - Logic & Liberty 🇺🇸 🚫🍊

"The problem here," she says, "is your numbers are way off." She explains that trees absorb 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per year, but U.S. pollution is measured in metric tons, not pounds. 

"According to the U.S. National Forest Service, our forest offsets about thirteen percent of national emissions," she continues. "That's it. That's not a full reversal, it's not even close. Plants don't cancel out fossil fuels."

She notes that while trees and plants do absorb carbon dioxide, they don't get rid of carbon; instead, they simply hold onto it, using it to fuel their growth. Once a tree dies or starts to decay, that carbon is released back into the atmosphere. 

"Photosynthesis isn't a magic vacuum," she says. "It's part of the carbon cycle, not a bottomless pit for pollution." 

She goes on to explain that the claims about science shifting come from a debunked narrative from the 1970s, which claimed that our changing climate was simply part of the Earth's natural glaciation cycle, and the increase in carbon in our atmosphere would eventually cause the planet to cool off, ushering in a new ice age. 

However, as MIT explains, while what we're currently experiencing is similar to a natural glaciation cycle, it's moving much more quickly than it would under normal, natural circumstances, and it is caused by man-made pollution from gas-burning engines and using things like natural gas as fuel. 

Logic & Liberty goes on to explain that the reasons why doomsday predictions from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s didn't come to fruition, around things like acid rain and the hole in the ozone layer, was because society listened to scientists about the dangers that were looming and made changes, like banning leaded gasoline. 

"Science didn't fail," she says. "Policy worked." 

"You are way outside the facts," she concludes. "Repeating long-debunked talking points and junk statistics. You're not debating, you're spreading misinformation." 

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