Welcome to KeepingForestsinForests
Keeping Forests in Forests (KFIF) is an environmentally friendly program that provides a way for you to offset your carbon footprint by using Georgia's forests to capture and store carbon.
A carbon footprint is simply a "measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced annually, measured in units of carbon dioxide (CO2)."
A typical Central Georgia EMC member's home produces about 25 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year. This carbon footprint is comprised of about 10 tons of CO2 related to electricity usage, 10 tons from driving automobiles, and five tons from burning natural gas.
Every forest lost represents a loss of habitat, a reduction in the ability of ecosystems to retain and clean surface waters, and perhaps most importantly, a liberation of carbon previously stored in the forest to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Saving existing forests using market forces is a great and innovative way to help the environment.
William Chameides, Dean of Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University
Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon into plants, soils, and water so that the buildup of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere will be reduced or slowed.
One of the primary plants used in the sequestration process is trees. Especially effective are evergreen trees like those found here in Georgia's forests.
Your participation in the carbon offset program provides funding to preserve, protect, and manage Georgia's valuable carbon-eating pine forests, thereby helping to sequester atmospheric carbon right here at home, while producing valuable environmental benefits, such as clean air and water for all us to enjoy.