#13 Planting Trees Won't Save The World
"To cherish what remains of the Earth and to foster its renewal is our only legitimate hope of survival."
Wendell Berry
We understand that humans have a dominating role in causing the climate crisis, therefore a great deal of emphasis has been made on mitigating the effects of anthropogenic climate change. One such tactic is reforestation, which acts to both compensate for the dramatic human-induced loss of trees and to create more carbon sinks to offset anthropogenic emissions.
However, it isn't as simple as it seems; this notion of extensive tree planting being the solution to mitigating climate change is infact harmful for ecosystems and functionality of forests in the long-term, including their ability to sequester carbon. Listen to this episode to hear why tree planting is really as complex of a process as is climate change itself.
Sources of data mentioned:
- https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/04/reforestation-is-seen-key-to-climate-progress/
- https://medium.com/@AmericanForests/lets-reforest-america-to-act-on-climate-1c46ae54acb1
- https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2927/examining-the-viability-of-planting-trees-to-help-mitigate-climate-change/
- 2019 reforestation potential study: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6448/76
- https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-green-pledges-will-not-create-the-natural-forests-we-need
- Restoration benefits: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01026-8
- https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment-and-conservation/2019/07/how-erase-100-years-carbon-emissions-plant-trees-lots-them
NOTE: these sources were chosen to make report findings more accessible for those that aren't familiar with scientific journals.
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