tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post9179073835614422757..comments2024-03-28T23:22:41.774-05:00Comments on TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee"): A tree is not a permanent carbon sinkMinnesotastanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-80210379610163370132019-09-05T10:41:47.437-05:002019-09-05T10:41:47.437-05:00You are right, but sadly, the nuance you need to m...You are right, but sadly, the nuance you need to make this point is completely lost on climate change deniers that will use this very argument to keep destroying the world.<br /><br />In fact, I had an argument with a family member this weekend who made exactly that point. It's really frustrating. Deniers (be it climate change, holocaust, anti vaxxers or creationists) really love to simplify complicated nuanced argument to simple sound bites that - devoid of every nuance - can not be argued with. It is the ultimate form of distraction by whataboutism.<br /><br />It is a massive failure of politicians as well as the press that they can not command the time and calm needed to explain that while things can often be simplified, the actual solutions to problems remain complicated and nuanced.Nepkarelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-68908534520200435652019-09-05T05:55:26.918-05:002019-09-05T05:55:26.918-05:00yes it would work ... read the second paragraph yes it would work ... read the second paragraph snarkyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14267669253750315778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-5441913059644874622019-09-04T19:07:07.429-05:002019-09-04T19:07:07.429-05:00It may also be worth considering the "standin...It may also be worth considering the "standing stock" of living biomass in trees. Even though all the carbon in a tree returns to the atmosphere on death, the carbon that is in living wood is obviously not in the atmosphere right now. Planting/replanting more trees does sequester carbon by increasing the amount of carbon that is in living wood, and as long as you maintain that increased number of trees you are maintaining that net carbon sequestration. I'm not sure how large that effect is on a global scale, I haven't seen anyone run the numbers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-80339756625645016592019-09-04T18:51:39.823-05:002019-09-04T18:51:39.823-05:00An excellent point, but it is worth noting that gr...An excellent point, but it is worth noting that grasslands, wetlands, and I believe intertidal eelgrass beds as well, _do_ sequester carbon long-term in the soil, peat, and anoxic black mud respectively. <br /><br />Grasses in particular are an excellent carbon sink because many things cannot digest them - I've actually seen the Ice Age blamed in part on the evolution of widespread grasslands and the resultant sequestration of carbon in plant matter that wasn't getting eaten, although I haven't looked deeply at the literature on that and I don't know if it holds water.<br /><br />It's not that carbon sequestration by ecological restoration is hopeless, we just need to look at things less charismatic than trees. I've heard talk of "restorative" or "regenerative" agriculture that would allow agricultural lands to sequester carbon in the soil in the same way as a healthy grassland, but I haven't looked into it deeply.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-76757313769116508872019-09-04T13:09:30.791-05:002019-09-04T13:09:30.791-05:00My take on the matter is that it is certainly poss...My take on the matter is that it is certainly possible (this is what the natural world does on a different scale), but that it would not be practical to scale the process up enough to counteract the massive carbon release from ongoing fossil fuel combustion.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-64239291073773337862019-09-04T10:43:13.260-05:002019-09-04T10:43:13.260-05:00Serious question for you, even if it sounds like I...Serious question for you, even if it sounds like I'm being inflammatory, I'm generously curious. Would it be possible to identify a fast growth tree type, grow said trees, and then sequester the wood somewhere within the ground? Effectively return carbon back to where it was before we started digging it up. I've asked this question a number of times throughout the years, and am usually met with a mixture of laugher and revulsion, but never has anyone given me a reasoned answer. I know it may sound silly/awful to grow trees just to bury them, but could it work? Am I being too simplistic (likely!)? Is this not possible at all, or just not at scale?<br /><br />Thanks for any thoughts you may have!stuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02536957927797693162noreply@blogger.com