Tree bombs to reforest the earth

Forests are to be created by dropping millions of trees out of aircraft. Equipment installed in the huge C-130 transport aircraft used by the military for laying carpets of landmines across combat zones has been adapted to deposit the trees in remote areas including parts of Scotland. An idea, originally from a former RAF pilot, Jack Walters, of Bridgnorth, Shropshire, has been developed by the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin Aerospace so that 900,000 young trees can be planted in a day.

www.guardian.co.uk...

What a great and simple way of planting large amounts of trees. 900,000 trees a day. The capsules land in the ground the right way up and plant themselves to the right depth. The container allows for the absorption of water and allows the roots to grow. This system is adaptive and can be used in different bioregions like deserts.

Never seen anything like it. Amazing.

However, unlike sowing grass seeds, planting trees requires some forethought. How are they going to ensure the correct spacing?

reply to post by purplemer


That's insanity!

I love it.

Using sub-munition dispensers to plant trees. It's brilliant really.
I imagine they would most likely end up being financed by Monsanto or someone similar so they could spread more of their GMOs around. While it is a good idea, those corporations aren't exactly known for their benevolence.

Also, some type of irrigation system would have to be worked out, or will they grow without being watered?

reply to post by watchitburn


they could be already fitted with gmo plants hence irrigation

reply to post by SteveR

However, unlike sowing grass seeds, planting trees requires some forethought. How are they going to ensure the correct spacing?

Planting trees In an urban environment - yes. But if we are talking about to reforest 3,000 square miles of land. We dont need much correct spacing in an are the size of that.
Nature itself will take care of the young seedlings.

peace,

HM

Awesome! Well awesome if it's non GMO and the capsules are harmless materials.

Mr Alamaro said: "We are seriously considering contacting British royalty and recommending that Jack is knighted.

Originally posted by SteveR
Never seen anything like it. Amazing.

However, unlike sowing grass seeds, planting trees requires some forethought. How are they going to ensure the correct spacing?

They all come with tiny tape-measures and are taught how to measure the proper distance between themselves, you know, just like they do in nature.

Let's change ALL the bombs on Earth into plant seed capsules!
How about that?

Not wishing to be a killjoy but wouldn't it be vastly cheaper to pay some third world workers a few dollars a day to get busy with a shovel and a wheel barrow ?

I do like the idea of tree bombs rather than cluster bombs though !

reply to post by Hopeforeveryone


It would not. Because you would have to pay each worker daily, make sure they are working in ideal conditions (meaning you need to provide them with shelter, restrooms, break areas), you need to transport them place to place from whereever they came from etc this is a much cheaper option.

reply to post by watchitburn


Its scotland pal,they will grow without irrigation alright!

reply to post by Celestica


To be fair i'd rather take the more expensive route as it would benefit the local economies and avoid giving extra money to an arms manufacturer.

Wow!! Fantastic!!! but.. is this article dated 1999 or am I reading it wrong? If so, did they go ahead with the plan?

The cost of manufacturing the bombs along with fuel for a C130 would be far more than paying someone with a shovel. Neat idea but inefficient

reply to post by Grimpachi


Yeah their figure of 900,000 a day seems unlikely too, a huge fleet of planes would be required to drop that many tree bombs. After having a little think about this i suspect this is merely a PR operation from Lockheed Martin Aerospace. Their main business is making weapons that turns living people into tree fertilizer.!

reply to post by Starcrossd


Good point. This article is 14 years old. I have never heard of tree bombs so I'm thinking this is a la la land idea that never took off. Shame really because it had potential...

Originally posted by KaiserSoze

Originally posted by SteveR
Never seen anything like it. Amazing.

However, unlike sowing grass seeds, planting trees requires some forethought. How are they going to ensure the correct spacing?

They all come with tiny tape-measures and are taught how to measure the proper distance between themselves, you know, just like they do in nature.

lol it's as if people here think think nature is incapable of working without careful human interference.

Yes... if we want to grow crops for food we need to make sure the seeds are planted at the correct depth in the soil and the correct distance from each other, the soil needs to be properly fertilized and turned, and the plants require constant irrigation. Otherwise we will have a low yield of low quality produce.

However this isn't a damn plan to grow some crops for food is it... it's a plan to regrow large forest areas by dispersing large amounts of seeds over a large area. Of course many seeds will fail to sprout, but many will grow... one of the main ways seeds are dispersed in nature is through bird crap, because birds eat a lot of seedy fruits.

No one making sure the seeds are planted properly, and no one constantly waters the plants. Only the toughest plants who can make it in the wild will survive, that is how evolution works. Anything which requires constant oversight is not fit for survival in the wild. Most GMO seeds cannot survive in the wild because their reproductive functions have been removed.

They do this so farmers constantly need to purchase new seeds instead of just using the seeds from previous crops. It's unlikely they would use GMO seeds for this plan but they may use seeds which have been modified to resist a larger number of diseases and fungi. I think it's a brilliant idea personally and it should have been done earlier.

The trees and plants are responsible for supplying much of the oxygen we breath.

Originally posted by Grimpachi
The cost of manufacturing the bombs along with fuel for a C130 would be far more than paying someone with a shovel. Neat idea but inefficient

I doubt it to be honest... paying the wages of all those people which would be required to cover such a large area would add up very quickly. Not to mention the process would be much slower because it would take the workers a lot of time to move across the land planting seeds. Plus if you're also going to have them dig up the dirt using shovels it's going to take even longer... there is no way that doing it using raw man power is more efficient than dumping seeds from aircraft over huge areas.

All we need now is bombs of love and all our problems will be solved!

Originally posted by Hopeforeveryone
Not wishing to be a killjoy but wouldn't it be vastly cheaper to pay some third world workers a few dollars a day to get busy with a shovel and a wheel barrow ?

I do like the idea of tree bombs rather than cluster bombs though !

edit on 20-3-2013 by Hopeforeveryone because: (no reason given)

No it would be vastly more expensive. You have to get the trees to the area. If it is remote this will be by helicopter and then you need to get peeps and equipment there...