Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary The 11th Hour, is Hollywood’s latest climate scare-mongering film. And the co-founder of environmental group Greenpeace, is slamming it.

It seems like there’s a new doomsday documentary every month. But seldom does one receive the coverage that Hollywood activist Leonardo DiCaprio’s latest climate-change rant, The 11th Hour, is getting.

When we’re bombarded anew with theatrical images of our earth’s ecosystems when the film opens across B.C. this Friday, I’m concerned that we’re losing sight of some indisputable facts.

Here’s a key piece of information DiCaprio, collaborator and long-time activist Tzeporah Berman and the leadership of my old organization Greenpeace are ignoring when it comes to forests and carbon: For British Columbians, living among the largest area of temperate rainforest in the world, managing our forests will be a key to reducing greenhouse gases.

As a lifelong environmentalist, I say trees can solve many of the world’s sustainability challenges. Forestry is the most sustainable of all the primary industries that provide us with energy and materials. Rather than cutting fewer trees and using less wood, DiCaprio and Berman ought to promote the growth of more trees and the use of more wood…

Although old trees contain huge amounts of carbon, their rate of sequestration has slowed to a near halt. A young tree, although it contains little fixed carbon, pulls CO2 from the atmosphere at a much faster rate.

When a tree rots or burns, the carbon contained in the wood is released back to the atmosphere. Since combustion releases carbon, active forest management — such as removing dead trees and clearing debris from the forest floor — will be imperative in reducing the number and intensity of fires…

To address climate change, we must use more wood, not less. Using wood sends a signal to the marketplace to grow more trees and to produce more wood. That means we can then use less concrete, steel and plastic — heavy carbon emitters through their production. Trees are the only abundant, biodegradable and renewable global resource.

DiCaprio’s movie, The 11th Hour, is another example of anti-forestry scare tactics, this time said to be “brilliant and terrifying” by James Christopher of the London Times.

Maybe so, but instead of surrendering to the terror, keep in mind that there are solutions to the challenges of climate, and our forests are among them.

This film should be a good, clear reminder for us to put the science before the Hollywood hype.

Dr. Patrick Moore is a co-founder of Greenpeace and chairman and chief scientist of Greenspirit Strategies Ltd. in Vancouver.

But I’m sure Leo knows better. He’s just like every other Hollywood-type. They think that because they can hold a camera to push an agenda, that makes them experts in that area. They simply won’t let facts get in the way of their agenda.

I’d suggest that Leo concentrate on turning his buds in L.A. around with their private jets, fleets of gas-guzzling vehicles, and multiple houses, before trying to get everyone else to change their light bulbs and use less wood.