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Plant a Tree - Save the World?

 
pie sneak
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When you plant a tree, where does the tree come from?

Is there some crazy company that uproots baby trees and then cleverly makes us feel like we're saving the planet by selling them to us so we can put them back in the ground?

How long does a tree have to live before it makes up for all the pollution caused in its transit to the new location?

I can't get past the irony of the giant (single-sided) poster near the copier evangelizing we should save trees by printing double-sided.

And why is it most folks take enough paper napkins to clean their entire bodies thoroughly, just in case they experience a whim to bathe in their food rather than eat it?
 
Ranch Hand
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Marc wrote:


How long does a tree have to live before it makes up for all the pollution caused in its transit to the new location?


Add a question:
How long does a solar cell has to live before it makes up for all the energy needed to produce the silicon for it?


Yours,
Bu.
 
Ranch Hand
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Originally posted by Burkhard Hassel:
Marc wrote:

Add a question:
How long does a solar cell has to live before it makes up for all the energy needed to produce the silicon for it?


Yours,
Bu.



Adding mine:
Why do people say - you can't have your cake and eat it too? why would someone get cake in the first place if they can't eat it?
 
Marc Peabody
pie sneak
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Originally posted by Chunnard Singh II:
Adding mine:
Why do people say - you can't have your cake and eat it too? why would someone get cake in the first place if they can't eat it?


If you eat it you can't appreciate its beauty anymore. Unless you own a camera. So, if happiness is in having both pleasures, then it pays to own a good camera and not be lactose intolerant - because you'll want milk with that cake. Oh, and you'll need a swimming pool full of paper napkins, what with that messy cake and milk and all.
[ November 07, 2007: Message edited by: Marc Peabody ]
 
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Originally posted by Marc Peabody:
When you plant a tree, where does the tree come from?


I get mine from The University of Idaho


How long does a tree have to live before it makes up for all the pollution caused in its transit to the new location?


A healthy tree stores about 13 pounds of carbon annually
An estimate of carbon emitted per vehicle mile is between 0.88 lb. CO2/mi. � 1.06 lb. CO2/mi.
source
So your answer is "several".
Sounds like you have "Earth Day Syndrome": You hear people saying "let's throw a huge party and use tons of resources and generate a huge carbon plume to raise awareness about overpopulation, dwindling resources and carbon emissions" and you want to kick people in the head.
 
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It seems like this is a serious kind of question, so I'll try a serious kind of answer...

Perhaps planting a tree doesn't make a dent in and of itself...but...perhaps planting a tree is an experience that stays with you, that gives you a different perspective, that somehow, over time, having planted that tree might start to affect how you do things down the road.

Plus, I think that as a species (with Americans probably being the worst), we all need to start learning to live with longer perspectives and time frames in mind. So the sapling you plant today is a gift to your grandkids or your great-great grandkids.

Also, I've planted LOTS of trees in my time and I've lived in lots of places where there weren't as many trees as I'd like. So for years I've been hoping that my "tree karma" would come around, and lo and behold, now I live in an oak and redwood forest, it's as great as I imagined it would be - yeah for trees!
 
Bert Bates
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oh, one more thing...I like to occasionally drive by places I lived 10 or 20 years ago and see how the trees I planted are coming along
 
Arvind Mahendra
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Originally posted by Marc Peabody:

If you eat it you can't appreciate its beauty anymore. Unless you own a camera. So, if happiness is in having both pleasures, then it pays to own a good camera and not be lactose intolerant - because you'll want milk with that cake. Oh, and you'll need a swimming pool full of paper napkins, what with that messy cake and milk and all.

[ November 07, 2007: Message edited by: Marc Peabody ]



Oh thanks Marc. 95% of Asians are(L.I) you just had to remind me about what I was missing out on. In addition to that my digital camera blows!!.
 
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The original expression was, "You can't eat your cake and (still) have it too." That is, once you eat it, it's gone and can't be saved for later. Somehow the expression got reversed, but people sort of still understand it.

Other popular corrupted expressions:

"Heels over head ..." meaning upside down, changed to "head over heels ...." which should just mean normal, but it's still understood to mean turned upside down.

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating," which makes sense, changed to, "The proof is in the pudding," which doesn't.
 
Consider Paul's rocket mass heater.
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