the bottom line for us is that, in addition to growing products in the forest to be used for solid wood, other construction materials and paper, we may also be growing renewable energy that our children will use someday. also, that energy may provide timberland owners with outstanding investment returns!

another big topic on the minds of timberland investors these days is "carbon credits." timberland on sale we hear the term "cap-and-trade" on cnbc and other news outlets on a regular basis, but what is "cap-and-trade?"

cap-and-trade is a compromise between humans' need to produce (energy, goods, etc.) and the need (perceived or real - we won't go there now timberland boots ) to slow, halt or reverse global warming. the international treaty for the control of greenhouse gasses known as the kyoto protocol (which the u. s. has not signed) calls for nations to place restrictions on their emissions of - most notably - carbon dioxide.

although sometimes voluntary, the cap-and-trade process usually begins when governments place "caps" on the net amount of carbon emissions (greenhouse gasses) that their nations' producers of energy and products are allowed to release into the atmosphere. the governments issue or sell carbon emission permits (also know as carbon credits) to producers to timberland boots allow them to conduct business.

the "net" part of "net emissions" is important, because, if a producer's emissions of greenhouse gasses exceed the producer's cap, the producer is allowed to purchase or "trade" for carbon credits to "offset" its excess emissions (you'll often hear the term "offsets" timberland boots uk in discussions of carbon credit trading). timberland boots if a producer's emissions are lower cheap timberland boots than its cap, the producer can sell or "trade cheap timberlands " its excess carbon credits to another producer that needs offsets.

so, how does this affect timberland owners? remember this term: sequestration.