Climate change is a problem that the entire world is beginning to address. Burning fossil fuels has increased the level of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere by 32 percent since the start of the Industrial Era and carbon dioxide is the biggest contributor to Global Warming. Levels of methane and carbon dioxide are the highest they have been in nearly a half a million years. What kind of planet will we be leaving to our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren? Will government cap and trade mechanisms like those in the Kyoto Treaty completely solve the problem?

Will renewable energy development keep pace with expanding worldwide energy demands? While the answers to these questions remain unknown, the most valuable resource on the planet for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, our forests, wetlands and grasslands become ever smaller. How do we save ourselves when our natural habitat is disappearing or gone? Never has the planet been more in need of these natural carbon dioxide and methane sinks.

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Never have these habitats been under greater pressure than they are today. | The Registry of Nature Habitats is taking action to preserve our natural sinks by stopping the destruction and poor management of forests and farms. Every Tree is a invaluable resource. When a mature tree is logged, tons of carbon dioxide, sequestered in the tree, are released into the atmosphere. | Thousands of acres of mature trees are cut in the United States every year. Wetlands stop the erosion of soils that, like trees, sequester carbon dioxide. Wetlands are filled in or disturbed every year. Grasslands are being invaded by foreign woody trees and shrubs that do not offset the carbon storage potential of grassland soils.

To preserve these national treasures, The Registry of Nature Habitats has begun a Conservation Certificate program. In exchange for payment land owners agree to properly manage their lands and discontinue harmful activities such as clear cut logging, filling in wetlands and burning grasslands. They sign legal agreements requiring them to comply with stringent guidelines for preserving and managing those lands. In turn, when you purchase a CONSERVATION CREDIT , you are helping pay those landowners. Your money helps a landowner pay taxes on parcels they may have otherwise logged, converted to intensive agriculture, or sold for development. Some of the funds also go to financing Land Management projects which promote a healthy environment for nature habitats.

To learn the process of how The Registry of Nature Habitats issues and backs it's Conservation Credits read The Process Page .

Go to our resources section for links to current information about Global Warming and the role of forests, wetlands and grasslands as natural carbon sinks that reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Use our carbon calculators to find out how many acres of trees offset your personal greenhouse gas emissions per year. Purchasing Conservation Certificates is not a substitute for the changes we must all make in our daily lives such as conserving energy and reducing our personal impact on climate change. But, it's an opportunity to step in the right direction and demonstrate leadership on an issue that affects every living thing on our precious planet.