Tree bombs to reforest the earth

reply to post by purplemer


I see this whole idea as a moot point. Thanks to our "devastation" of the natural world, it's actually getting greener and wetter! PLEASE watch this video!

criticality.org...

reply to post by auto73912621



While it may be the case that the earth is getting wetter and greener as a nett measure, it is also the case that land which is populated by subsitance farmers is getting desertified. No matter which side of the fossil fuel debate you sit on is rather less important, than ensuring that land which has been farmed for generations, can actually continue to provide resources for people to live on. Wether those resources are the food that was farmed there previously, or the grazing that used to happen to excess, or the hydro electrical benifits that healthy land can give a region (as in some of the examples in the Green Gold video).

The amazon getting greener is all very well, but logging DOES threaten the process of which Matt Ridley speaks. Areas of Africa getting greener is all very well, but unless the constant over grazing and slash and burn tactics stop, that process will mean nothing to the famine hit regions of Africa.

Also, the video you posted says nothing of note about the other unfortunate side effects of over reliance on fossil based energy, namely disasters involving spills, improper saftey at drill sites, poisoning of watercourses by fracking, and the acidification of seas and lakes, disasterous for sea and water borne life. Yes, more carbon means greener plants, and larger ones. But these things alone do not constitute the all clear to continue behaving stupidly with our energy production techniques. China may have a region or two where progressive environmental systems are being developed, but its smogs are not caused by mere dust from the desertified regions, but by huge amounts of irresponsible industrial process which, apart from anything else, cause harm to millions of people every year, let alone the possible environmental consequences.

A measured mixture of planet husbandry, and industrial and technological input, is the only logical route forward. We should combine the understanding we have at our disposal of the planet, and the availability of science and industry for the betterment of all, and thats what these seed pods represent. They also represent a possible way to begin terraforming other planets at some stage, assuming we find one which could be habitable.

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)

Cheaper maybe but also slower. Why cheap out on a project like this just to save a few bucks when rainforests are in dire need of saving.

reply to post by Celestica

Ya but.....doesn't the ground need to be worked up, adding nutrients (manure and what have you), so that it can soak up moisture? Talking about deserts of course.

reply to post by Rubic0n


I'm not really buying the whole concept. An arms manufacturer puts this plant bomb idea out there fourteen years ago and guess what - they didn't follow through. It's a public relations exercise from a company that makes weapons ! Please don't be so naive as to think this was ever a real project.

Originally posted by 11I11
All we need now is bombs of love and all our problems will be solved!

Actually the Japanese were pioneers in "bombs of love" field. Research and development began many years ago and I understand they have perfected it some time ago. The technique has been so popular it has spread globally, there are videos of it in practice all over the internet, not so much youtube though. I don't remember the Japanese word for it right off-hand though, it reminded me of pastries in English.

WOW, military technology being used for something other than taking life! What a novel idea, lol. This is actually really neat, and it seems it would be highly effective. If the actual US military would get involved in a plethora of similar projects of this nature, things that do good instead of cause harm, maybe people would not complain so much about the military budget, which is way to big at the moment.

GMO TREES!

Second

Originally posted by TrueBrit
reply to post by charlyv

 

You would need the little bubble to install a sapling, because the sort of winds you get in desertified regions are strong and unimpeded by other vegetation, of which there is little to none. Because a very small plant could be blown away by those winds, and because the idea of this particular seeding method is that the pod should provide all the care to the seedling that would normally be provided by manual labour, the shell protects the plant during the early stages of its development.

When that early stage is complete, the shell will degrade, allowing the plant to interact more fully with the terrain, by putting down a larger root pack, anchoring it to the ground. This will have positive effects not just for the plant, but for the entire ecosystem of the area.

I understand your position, however I am not talking about small, volatile trees. Just as in the "spikebouy' project, i mentioned, these artificial trees were about 4 to 5 feet tall. A sapling of this size would have a much better chance of survival and the cost would be way down per tree, since it is a much lower tech approach.

My idea would be to take the root ball of the sapling and encase it in an thin iron ball, rilled with holes, with a big spike on the end. The root ball could be fully filled with water and nutrient and a bio degradable tape put around it so it would dissolve in a few days. Once spiked into the ground, the roots would escape the holes and eventually, rust would dissolve the iron ball as well. Just an idea, but certainly cheaper than designing a space capsule for a very vulnerable small shoot of a tree and expecting that to survive.

reply to post by purplemer


OMG so weird I have come upon this thread this evening. I did a thread this morning regarding growing plants on the moon. & now I see this wonderful information on these tree seed bombs.

So they way I see it... they just need to figure out how to deploy these suckers on the moon... only problem is the containers degrade and well we need the trees to stay in a greenhouse like container for growth on the moon.

Maybe someone can revise this concept and come up with a viable usable option.

This was very Interesting. I think it was a splendid idea even if they never actually utilized it. Thx for sharing !


leolady

More tree's, more Squirrels, I say go for it..

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?

Just got onto this thread now and maybe someone has already answered your question but i would like to add my grain of salt.

You ask how do they ensure correct spacing... my answer back would be : How did Nature ensure correct spacing...

Once the trees have got to a certain age and height, nature will take care of spacing.

Kindest respects

Rodinus

Imagine using stuff like this to terraform mars?

I live in a place where reforestation is big business. We have tree nurseries that grow trees in greenhouses for replantation. I was thinking if we put the seedlings roots in a mold shaped like a lawn dart then filled it with a nutrient rich water you could freeze it then drop in from a plane. Tree planted. The ice would melt and there would be no container in the ground.