Harvesting forests to reduce fossil fuels the next big boondoggle WE are all brought up to recycle paper to save trees. Indeed, environmentalism was born with a call to preserve the forests. But now, in the name of saving the planet from climate change, environmentalists are proposing a global campaign to cut down and burn trees to reduce fossil-fuel use. This could be dismissed as a weird irony if it weren't for its phenomenal costs, which include likely destruction of biodiversity, increased water use and reduced global food production. And it may increase global CO2 emissions to boot.