A global reforestation project is how we fix climate change • Hacker News Board

Re: A global reforestation project is how we fix climate change

#21

Post by vorpalhex » Thu, Jan 16, 2020, 2:25 PM UTC

earthtolazlo wrote: post #9

growlist wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An honest question: if a technological solution were found that both solved climate change and allowed us to continue burning fossil fuels, would you accept it?

Having your cake and eating it too sounds like a great option. It just doesn’t have any basis in reality.

Parent as I read it isn't suggesting that having your cake and eating it too is possible, instead they're attempting to establish a dual-scale demarcation of viewpoints with one scale being "Prohibition or allowance of fossil fuels" and the other scale being "Fixes or does not fix climate change".

This is useful because polling has discovered many US Republicans will actually vote for climate solutions _if_ they employ new technologies that would result in new industries.

Re: A global reforestation project is how we fix climate change

#22

Post by ainiriand » Thu, Jan 16, 2020, 2:26 PM UTC

growlist wrote: post #3

Gets my vote. I love woodland and can't bear the empty, desolate green spaces that cover most of the UK, and which many British people consider to be 'nature'. And here's an idea: process the wood into a form that can be used for land reclamation without decomposing, cover said land with topsoil, grow trees on said land. Voila: a buffer against worsening coastal erosion due to sea level rise, that also locks in carbo…

I was in shock to discover how empty and barren Ireland is. According to Wikipedia it is one of the most heavily deforested countries in Europe...

Re: A global reforestation project is how we fix climate change

#23

Post by dpflan » Thu, Jan 16, 2020, 2:26 PM UTC

bcrosby95 wrote: post #19

dpflan wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there methods of tree farming that are focusing solely on carbon capture? For example, is it known that a species of plant that grows quickly captures carbon very efficiently?

I've heard this tree grows extremely fast: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulownia_tomentosa

Thanks for this. From the article:

> "An acre of empress trees can absorb 103 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. Once the trees reach maturity, farmers harvest their wood for use in houses or musical instruments.[12]"

Re: A global reforestation project is how we fix climate change

#24

Post by growlist » Thu, Jan 16, 2020, 2:26 PM UTC

adreamingsoul wrote: post #5

I'm burnt out or depressed with my current career (or something else), but at this moment I would happily pivot to spending the rest of my life trying to help nature. How could I create a business or venture that allowed people to make a livable wage while also working to create a balanced ecosystem between human and nature?

Agriculture, countryside management, waste management or the like are probably areas where you could personally make a real difference. IMHO we have far, far too many clueless virtue signalling activists and politicians that are capable of nothing more than spouting the empty platitudes their handlers feed them, and far too few skilled engineers and technologists figuring out how to boil down these nebulous aims into practical, smart measures that can succeed without the need for draconian legalistic enforcement. It's extremely rare to see any of the latter groups actually dig deeply into a problem and persevere with developing solutions that make a change; for example they'll bleat on about the patriarchy and how we need more women in IT, but will they actually ever really learn anything about IT themselves to inform their thinking and help bring about the change they claim to want? Not a chance.

Re: A global reforestation project is how we fix climate change

#25

Post by jacknews » Thu, Jan 16, 2020, 2:27 PM UTC

triclops200 wrote: post #8

That only "fixes" climate change as long as the trees continue growing and do not die. When dead, trees release their CO_2 that they've sequestered back into the atmosphere due to decomposition. Therefore, assuming those forests stay around, you've only delayed the problem by sinking a fixed amount of CO_2 away into the living biomass of the trees. The only way to make that a permanent sink would be to biochar the tr…

if you biochar fallen trees and litter, and then bury it, it stays sequestered for a long time.

It also improves the soil long term - particularly in sandy soils it helps water retention.

Obviously this is much more work that just planting and forgetting though.

Re: A global reforestation project is how we fix climate change

#26

Post by ourcat » Thu, Jan 16, 2020, 2:27 PM UTC

We need more photosynthesis (again).

I've often thought that vast swathes of otherwise barren land on this planet could be used for cultivating hemp and Cannabis, for a vast amount of uses (not just getting high).

It obviously grows very quickly compared to trees. And like 'a weed'. The 're-greenification' of land would be rapid.

Re: A global reforestation project is how we fix climate change

#27

Post by dpflan » Thu, Jan 16, 2020, 2:29 PM UTC

berbec wrote: post #20

dpflan wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there methods of tree farming that are focusing solely on carbon capture? For example, is it known that a species of plant that grows quickly captures carbon very efficiently?

Wouldn't shallow pools of algea in a greenhouse be much more efficient than trees?

I don't know, are you familiar with carbon capture rates for algae? It's a good point and one to explore: trees/plants vs. algae for carbon capture. If you could make a modular system of tiles (say 10' x 10') comprised of carbon capturing method of choice (algae pools, trees), would it make sense to install these on buildings in cities (or anywhere, but suggest cities because that is certainly where such things do not exist at scale anymore) (then consider fabrication and maintenance costs)? I have no idea what the solution is to the carbon capture problem, but increases opportunities for carbon capture seems like a high level solution.

Re: A global reforestation project is how we fix climate change

#28

Post by growlist » Thu, Jan 16, 2020, 2:30 PM UTC

earthtolazlo wrote: post #9

growlist wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An honest question: if a technological solution were found that both solved climate change and allowed us to continue burning fossil fuels, would you accept it?

Having your cake and eating it too sounds like a great option. It just doesn’t have any basis in reality.

> It just doesn’t have any basis in reality.

So you're effectively denying the possibility? I'd say that's a pretty gargantuan assumption to make.

Re: A global reforestation project is how we fix climate change

#29

Post by ulrikrasmussen » Thu, Jan 16, 2020, 2:31 PM UTC

Ndymium wrote: post #14

triclops200 wrote: post #8

That only "fixes" climate change as long as the trees continue growing and do not die. When dead, trees release their CO_2 that they've sequestered back into the atmosphere due to decomposition. Therefore, assuming those forests stay around, you've only delayed the problem by sinking a fixed amount of CO_2 away into the living biomass of the trees. The only way to make that a permanent sink would be to biochar the tr…

But when the trees die, new trees will grow in the same area, sequestering more or less that CO2 that was emitted from the dying tree, no? Would this not turn the forests into a permanent CO2 sink, at least on a rough scale? Or do they sequester less than they emit?

I unfortunately can't find a reference, but I heard that it takes about 20 years for a newly planted tree to peak with regards to absorption of carbon, and after about 100 years it reaches equilibrium where the forest emits about the same amount of carbon to the atmosphere as it absorbs (through decaying matter, fallen trees, and whatnot). It of course depends on the type of tree.

Re: A global reforestation project is how we fix climate change

#30

Post by Nasrudith » Thu, Jan 16, 2020, 2:33 PM UTC

berbec wrote: post #20

dpflan wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there methods of tree farming that are focusing solely on carbon capture? For example, is it known that a species of plant that grows quickly captures carbon very efficiently?

Wouldn't shallow pools of algea in a greenhouse be much more efficient than trees?

Technically yes but it would be generally worse at self-sustaining scalability - you need to construct more greenhouses, keep the higher exposed surface area of water from evaporating, and find a sequestering use for that algae.

Non-biodegrading bioplastic made with renewable eneegy could technically work for that role but more plastic waste isn't approved of for obvious reasons.