Lesson Twenty-Five: Carbon Capture and Trees
How we can use nature to save nature
OXYGEN CYCLE
Remember when you were in grade school, and you learned about different weather cycles? Eg. the water cycle, life cycle, rock cycle?
Well today we’re going to revisit the oxygen cycle. Super simple:
Oxygen exists on our planet in our atmosphere. Yay! 👍
Animals + plants breathe in oxygen (O2) which creates carbon (CO2).
Plants take carbon (CO2) and create oxygen (O2) using photosynthesis.
CARBON CAPTURE
So, learning from the oxygen cycle, it would make sense that if our planet has too much carbon, we just need to plant more trees. 🌳 Right?
Well, that’s exactly what some scientists have been researching lately. 👩🏽🔬👨🏾🔬👨🔬👩🏻🔬
According to a study published in the journal Science, planting 4.4 billion hectares of trees worldwide is the “biggest and cheapest tool” for tackling climate change.
Because of that hype, trees got a big boost at The 2020 World Economic Forum. The World Economic Forum announced a new initiative aimed at planting 1 TRILLION TREES around the globe by 2030 to combat climate change.
The research estimates that this worldwide planting programme could remove 66% of human-caused emissions since the start of the Industrial Revolution.
THE “BUT” TO ALL THIS
We need to realize there is no silver bullet answer - climate change is too complex.
There are also strong critiques for this solution:
Planting the same species of trees in “tree farms” cause monocultures. Unlike polycultures, they can be wiped out by one disease, plus wildfires impact them more.
The research doesn’t account for the shifting climate which could also decrease total canopy coverage (as temperatures rise in the tropics).
To achieve this goal, it would require planting trees on every plot around the globe that could accommodate them - even as populations grow and many nations are cutting trees down to make room for new farms, communities, and grazing land.
The study left out that a significant portion (50%) of the world’s carbon is absorbed by the ocean - so the 66% figure that they put out there out is a big over-estimation.
WHAT REALLY MATTERS
Trees are the way to capture carbon, but you don’t need to plant a tree to regenerate a forest.
Forests can heal on their own if they’re allowed to. These forests actually end up being more resilient and helpful in the climate fight than newly planted plots of trees.
WHAT REALLY MATTERS
By focusing on saving places like the Amazon, and reducing deforestation, our planet would be in better shape to absorb the carbon we emit.
That being said, the real culprit is our aggressive consumption patters, high emissions, and pollution. We can’t let “planting trees” be the Band-Aid solution while ignoring the root problems. #pardonthepun #butnotactullybecauseilovepuns
If you have any stories about deforestation or tree-planting initiatives, please let me know! I’d love to hear from you!
