Plant more real trees.
You can stop reading now if you like as that is the main message of this blog post.
I have listened with growing concern all week about the plans to "plant" lots of artificial "trees" to trap and store carbon "for a long time." This morning on Today, a man from the Royal Society was in on the act promoting artificial trees as one of our best radical, scientific hopes for combatting climate change.
OK science (as represented by the man from the RS), you are officially up your own backside, you have ceased to do any integrated thinking, and here is my longer response:
Most of us know the benefits of real trees, including the fact that they transform CO2 into O2. Many of us know the complexities of cutting down rain forest to grow crops, for fuel and building materials, and to create grazing land for cattle. We should tackle the issues that are causing the real trees to be cut down and restore some kind of natural balance to our world rather than add to the imbalance by putting sunglasses in the sky to sheild us from the sun or plant artifical trees that store carbon but don't do anything productive with it.
To his credit, the man from the RA did say that it was best to tackle the problem "at its source" by which I think he meant, "stop cutting down trees and plant some more" but I cannot be sure. If that is indeed what he meant, why did he not say so and why does he not spend his time tackling the issues to do with the loss of real trees rather than the development of artificial ones?
Thus, the key message of this blogpost: Plant more real trees.
That is why this is the shortest blog ever.
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OK - wearing nerdy scientist hat - have to confess first reaction was - oooh that's interesting, wonder how they do it. You will be pleased to know however that almost immediate second reaction was as above. Presumably you heard chap, forget name, on Today this AM saying almost exactly what your blog says. Should have booked you shouldn't they!
ReplyDeleteI keep asking myself - why oh why am I not famous enough to be on today? Would be a special commentator or - height of my ambition - to do thought for the day...
ReplyDeleteYou should start writing them (TFTD's) and sending them in, and keep doing it, and eventually suggest they should just start letting you on the air. And keep doing that too. Peristence coupled with a bit of cheek goes a long way!
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