Silvan Planet

As the climate crisis grows more severe, some are suggesting the use of prefabricated structural wood components in place of concrete and steel for support in large buildings. Yes, wood structures mean the cutting of trees. But the overall climate impact may be substantially less than the immense carbon footprint of concrete and steel construction. Michael Green, an architect who is a proponent of wood construction notes that, “Roughly 11 percent of the global carbon footprint is related to what buildings are made out of.” FOR THE WHOLE STORY ==> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/20/style/engineered-wood-tower-construction.html [ Photo: P. R. Burley, CCL ]

“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them—whoever knows how to listen to them—can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts; they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.” — Hermann Hesse, "Wandering" Not only that but trees are more powerful in groups. Some even see a kind of teamwork among groups of trees. Evolution has equipped some of them with improved survival when they cooperate with each other. An example is Redwoods - their shallow root systems are stronger when they are intertwined with the roots of their neighbours. As a result of this firm foundation, Redwoods can become some of the tallest trees in the world. FOR THE WHOLE STORY ==>   https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/11/18/the-teamwork-of-trees/#335590c860f0 [Photo by Allie Caulfield, CCL]

First it was the Chestnut blight, then Dutch Elm disease, followed by the Emerald Ash Borer! Now a new enemy of trees is on the horizon. The American Beech, Fagus grandifolia , one of the most impressive trees in eastern forests, is now under attack.   They're working on it. Right now research is still at the stage of identifying the pathogen that causes shrivelled beech leaves mottled with black stripes. A possible cause has been tentatively indicted, a leaf-infesting nematode. But bacterial or fungal pathogens may also be involved. FOR THE WHOLE STORY ==>   https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6467/786 [ Photo by Marqqq, CC License ]  

This is real estate talk. In southern California, they're big on the benefits of trees. There are the environmental benefits of course - protection of soil from erosion, providing habitat for birds, contributing oxygen to the atmosphere... and it's a much longer list than this. But in addition they provide a whole lot of services that people value. For example, trees in your neighbourhood reduce energy use, reduce water run-off to sewage systems and improve air and water quality (also a much longer list). What really appeals to those with a stake in real estate, is the way trees add to the value of a house that is up for sale. One expert calculates that investing in trees on a residential property can produce a 110% return on investment. CHECK OUT THE WHOLE STORY ==>   https://kfiam640.iheart.com/featured/home-with-dean-sharp/content/2019-11-10-the-benefit-of-having-trees/

There have been a couple of very encouraging stories in the news lately. 1. YouTube stars raise over $6m to plant trees around the world : According to The Guardian a group of over 600 popular contributors to YouTube have been raising money to plant trees. Twenty million trees! This is all part of a campaign called the #TeamTrees project. The project aims to raise up to twenty million dollars and plant twenty million trees. 2. Elon Musk donates $1 million to plant trees : And one of the big contributors to that 'twenty million tree' project will be electric car developer, Elon Musk. Of course Musk also contributes a lot to greenhouse gases too, with his Space-X, space exploration program. Perhaps his donation will help in part to compensate for the Space-X activities. READ THE WHOLE STORIES ==> https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/oct/29/youtube-stars-fundraise-plant-trees-around-the-world and https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/29/20939016/elon-musk-mrbeas