The science is beyond simply evaporation. Plant roots cause an ability for water to permeate the ground thus hold water. This root mass holds the soil, thus stabilizing the earth near the plant material. Trees exude gases thus encouraging moisture to be consolidated into raindrops, thus rain. As forests decrease in mass, desertification takes hold e.g, the cedars of Lebanon and large parts of North Africa. Sugar production (photosynthesis) will decrease per acre thus carbon will not be sequestered in the trees, thus not decreasing carbon as gas. Also, and not the least, is that slope erosion control will most certainly be compromised. Soils of America are washed into the ocean at tremendous levels over the past century. Only 7% of the earth's surface is arable and thus plant-able and we will be contributing to its diminution. The winners of this scheme will most likely be forest products companies i.e., 20" diameter trees and better (see above article). Japan has had the inside on this feature for many years for plywood to sell here. Thus funneling our dollars to Asia. The electric companies (who will go to the PUC to increase rates to cut the forests) thus increasing your utility bill. The losers may be sound management of our forests, including biodiversity, forest health and stability of the environment.
I'm not sure, but this, to me, seems like a ploy for particular interests at the expense of everyone else.
Oddly, I just read an article about removing the forests except for an occasional tree with a certain genotype to stop the aggression of bark beetles even though bark beetles are part of our ecosystem and do a particular job. Our forests would return hundreds of years from now. This smells of the same scent. I'm not sure of the actual intent or quality of the original source prior to the commentary by the Sacramento Bee.
