Devil’s Advocate: Serving you a cocktail of wit, humour & sarcasm
“Stop planting trees.” This statement was not uttered by a climate change sceptic, or a climate change denier nor a conspiracy theorist but by the very same person who planted the idea and started the movement!
“Planting a trillion trees” was the brainchild of Thomas Crowther, an ecologist and former chief scientific adviser for the United Nations’ Trillion Trees Campaign and recently, he has been pleading the world to stop the practice. “The potential of newly created forests to draw down carbon is often overstated. They can be harmful to biodiversity. Above all, they are really damaging when used, as they often are, as avoidance offsets, as an excuse to avoid cutting emissions,” Crowther said.
Have the scientists been barking up the wrong tree all along? Are they not able to see the wood for the trees? The climate change activists have always told us, the hoi polli – “Listen to the scientists!” and now this about face?
Initially, I was a bit a confused about the campaign. Why would someone uproot a tree to plant it somewhere else? It was later clarified to me that planting a tree actually meant planting a “sapling” rather than a tree! LOL!
The world governments went on a tree-planting spree on the advice of the scientists. Celebrities, politicians, and volunteers, roamed around, shovel in hand, planting trees wherever they could find a spot. The Isha Foundation has a plan to plant 2.42 billion trees along the Kaveri River. I jumped on the bandwagon too, planted a few trees and took photos for Facebook & Instagram purposes, so that I could declare to the world that I had played a role in saving the planet. All my efforts are now in vain!
A group of scientists has now warned that mass tree planting risks doing more harm than good, particularly in tropical regions. Besides being ineffective, the practice can replace complex ecosystems with monoculture plantations.
Bill Gates had declared recently. “I don’t plant tree. The claim that planting enough trees could solve the climate crisis is complete nonsense,” he told a climate discussion. “Are we the science people or are we the idiots?”
I was expecting a “I told you so” call from Appu, my acquaintance, on this topic. I wouldn’t label Appu as a climate change denier, but he is someone who doesn’t buy into the doom and gloom prediction of the end of the world due to global warming. He argues, “Climate change has happened in the past and will happen in the future. The earth, which is 4 billion years old, has survived these and has a way of looking after itself. Humans cannot destroy the earth. Instead, the earth will wipe out the human species. So, this is not about us saving the planet but saving ourselves from extinction.”
Appu did call and he guffawed, “Mate! Are you still planting trees?” To be honest, I have no idea where I planted my trees. I have not gone back to water & fertilize them.
He continued. “I had told you that planting trees was a pea-brained idea which wouldn’t work and now it is proven to be true. In 2019, Turkey planted 11 million trees as part of a government-backed initiative. In less than three months, 90% of the saplings perished for lack of water. Hoping your saplings are faring better than that.”
Appu was on a roll. “There is a paradox here. If a trillion trees are to be planted, they would need a huge amount of CO2 because trees require CO2 to grow. But if the world is bent upon reducing CO2 emissions, would we be starving the trees after planting them? Also, trees release CO2 when they decay or when burnt. So, would the trillion trees actually end up adding CO2 into the atmosphere?”
“Planting trees is an excellent “greenwashing” tool. If the oil companies, the real environment villains, are planting trees, it sure smells fishy. The oil giant, Shell, will spend $300 million over the next three years on planting more than 5 million trees in the Netherlands and Spain, supporting forest regeneration in Australia and engaging in conservation in Malaysia”.
“Let me explain “greenwashing” using the Taylor Swift phenomenon. Despite the cost-of-living crisis, Swifties (Taylor Swift fans) are splurging on exorbitant concert tickets, flights, and accommodation. Not sure where the money is coming from! Ms Swift is zipping around in her private jet performing concerts back-to-back and still finding time to attend her boyfriend’s football matches. Her air travel has become a topic of concern, for the amount of CO2 emissions released, which is taking the world one step closer to the dreaded 1.50 C temperature threshold. She has earned the notoriety of being the world’s most polluting celebrity. Her fans are flying in from every corner of the world to her concerts, adding to her carbon footprint. Besides creating carbon pollution in the air, she is also responsible for carbon pollution on the ground. Uber CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, admits “Uber definitely ups its game for Taylor when she comes to town”. Uber plans specifically for a higher volume of people calling for a ride during her concerts.
“As this disaster is unfolding, Ms Greta Thunberg, the climate samurai, is keeping quiet like a church mouse. She is not holding any protests outside Swift’s concert stadiums, as she normally would against carbon polluters, raising suspicions that she is also a Swiftie, like the rest of us.”
“So, to absolve herself from her environmental sins, Ms Swift purchased double the carbon credits to offset the emissions generated by her Eras Tour which will go towards a charity which plants trees. Dirty laundry “greenwashed.” Voila!
“Ms Swift can now wash her hands clean of the dirty spots and keep jetting around knowing that her travels haven’t caused global warming, thanks to “greenwashing,” and maybe write a song or two about it.”
Instead of going around planting trees, it is time to shake one’s tree so that we don’t find ourselves up the gum tree!
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
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Bhushan Salunke delves into the surprising twist of ecologist Thomas Crowther urging to halt tree planting, unraveling the complexities & contradictions in the global climate change narrative. 🌳🌍🤔🌱🔄 #TheIndianSunhttps://t.co/7FIPZy6w5S
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