Human behavior's effect on global climate extends beyond energy consumption and the burning of fossil fuels. Over the past 50 years, nearly half the world's original forest cover has been lost. Each year another 16 million hectares of virgin forest are cut, bulldozed, or burned. The average person probably does not realize that forest cover regulates climate by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. Destruction of forests, therefore, contributes to global warming. Living trees soak up and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, whereas trees that are cut down and burned release carbon into the atmosphere. Human activities resulting in deforestation include logging, farming, ranching, use as fuel wood and lumber, mining, building of dams, and urban expansion. Can we manage and harvest forests in a more sustainable manner?