While each acre of most tree species can capture and store 1.1 to 9.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, an acre of empress trees can absorb 103. “The tree has a very Jack and the Beanstalk energy to it,” says Wendy Burton, whose 17-year-old Mesa, Ariz.-based timber company, World Tree, has planted more than 1,000 acres of empress.
Farmers are using non-invasive varieties of the tree, which is otherwise known as a pest in some parts of the world. Once the trees reach maturity, farmers harvest their wood for use in houses or musical instruments. World Tree investors share in the profits. The trees can regrow easily from the stumps after they’ve been harvested. Says Cathy Key, the company’s chief operating officer: “It’s a tree that grows like grass.”
Here is another, Bill Gates backed carbon capture concept
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