In an AP article this morning, it was reported that the Vatican is embracing a forest project in Hungary and going green.  The Vatican has accepted an unusual donation by a start-up called ClimaFa.  The donation consists of a plot of land and the promise by KlimaFa to plant 37-acres worth of trees that will serve to offset the Vatican's carbon emissions, thus making the tiny country within Rome the first carbon-neutral state in the world. 

It's a fantastic concept, though one that scientists say is a bit misleading.  While the new forest will eat up a lot of carbon dioxide while it is growing, once it becomes a more mature forest it will consume far less carbon dioxide and the Vatican will no longer be carbon-neutral.  The planting of a forest may be a temporary fix to a more far-reaching problem, but it is undeniable that the Vatican is doing positive work by going green.  Because of its minute size, the project is feasible while it may not be for a far larger country, like say Hungary itself or the US.  But what the Vatican's project does exemplify is that giving back to the land is possible.  Each person can do her or his part and have trees planted, and while it may not save the Earth, it will do something to combat global warming at the same time that it beautifies the planet.  All the trees the Vatican is having planted are on land that has been stripped of its original forests.