[Intro Graphic]: Ohio State’s Brent Sohngen combines data and market economics to prove humans can grow and protect global forests.

[Brent Sohngen, Environmental Economist, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences]: What motivates me is to try to protect unique places, trying to figure out ways to ensure these last great places are around for future generations to enjoy. You know, for 150 years, the primary process of land use has been deforestation, movement of land out of forestry and into agriculture. That's really switched in the last 30 years from let's just go see the trees out there, cut them down, and use them, to now let's regenerate trees and plan to use those in the future. I was trying to put two and two together that there's gonna be a growing demand for natural ecosystems, a growing demand for using trees as a commodity, and we've got to figure out a way to balance them. If we were to try to meet some of our big climate goals, we would have to use forests. They would end up being about a third of the total solution to that problem at a really low cost. It's just more evidence that if we can figure out ways to harness our economic system better to work for us, then we can actually create a better future for everyone.

[Closing Graphic]: The Ohio State University
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