The Rizomatik Way

There have just been two recent reports released on the global climate crisis. One was by the IPCC, a UN body that has published such reports every few years since... There was another one, however, this time from the World Meteorological Organization, and this one is worth a second look. It's called 'United in Science.' Maybe the biggest story here is, 'CLIMATE IMPACTS,' hitting harder and sooner than predicted a decade ago. This means that glaciers are melting faster and sea levels are rising faster than we had thought. And rising sea levels imperil millions of lives and livelihoods in coastal regions of  the world's continents and islands. Trees that can fight the climate crisis are going to be more important than ever in our future. FOR THE WHOLE STORY ==> https://www.clickondetroit.com/weather-center/science/world-meteorological-organization-releases-new-global-warming-report https://www.clickondetroit.com/weather-center/science/world-...

Officials in Wichita, Kansas, are concerned. The city's tree canopy is disappearing at an alarming rate. Only 23% of their land is covered by tree canopy and that number is trending downward.  Summer drought seems to be the biggest factor in the decline. If that's the situation in Wichita, what is it like in other major North American cities?

This is real estate talk. In southern California, they're big on the benefits of trees. There are the environmental benefits of course - protection of soil from erosion, providing habitat for birds, contributing oxygen to the atmosphere... and it's a much longer list than this. But in addition they provide a whole lot of services that people value. For example, trees in your neighbourhood reduce energy use, reduce water run-off to sewage systems and improve air and water quality (also a much longer list). What really appeals to those with a stake in real estate, is the way trees add to the value of a house that is up for sale. One expert calculates that investing in trees on a residential property can produce a 110% return on investment. CHECK OUT THE WHOLE STORY ==>   https://kfiam640.iheart.com/featured/home-with-dean-sharp/content/2019-11-10-the-benefit-of-having-trees/

Trees are living organisms. And like all living organisms, trees are totally dependent on their environment for a successful life. They need nutrient rich soils. They need sunlight for energy, carbon dioxide from the air to make new tissue for growth and oxygen at night to generate the energy for life processes. Trees need rain for the water to keep their leaves from wilting. And they depend on a wide variety of other organisms, from fungi to assist with absorbing minerals to squirrels that carry their seeds far and wide. So it stands to reason that if the environment is getting less reliable, the trees that will survive into the future are the ones that can adapt to changing conditions. This is the premise the drives the research of Katharina Braeutigam, a researcher who studies the epigenetics of trees at the University of Toronto. What about the expression of a tree's genes can make it more adaptable? Finding out may give trees a better chance to go on doing the jo...

“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them—whoever knows how to listen to them—can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts; they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.” — Hermann Hesse, "Wandering" Not only that but trees are more powerful in groups. Some even see a kind of teamwork among groups of trees. Evolution has equipped some of them with improved survival when they cooperate with each other. An example is Redwoods - their shallow root systems are stronger when they are intertwined with the roots of their neighbours. As a result of this firm foundation, Redwoods can become some of the tallest trees in the world. FOR THE WHOLE STORY ==>   https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/11/18/the-teamwork-of-trees/#335590c860f0 [Photo by Allie Caulfield, CCL]  

 Published by the Save the Earth Cooperative on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/SaveTheEarthCoop/ VISIT THEIR WEBSITE ==> https://savetheearth.coop/

First it was the Chestnut blight, then Dutch Elm disease, followed by the Emerald Ash Borer! Now a new enemy of trees is on the horizon. The American Beech, Fagus grandifolia , one of the most impressive trees in eastern forests, is now under attack.   They're working on it. Right now research is still at the stage of identifying the pathogen that causes shrivelled beech leaves mottled with black stripes. A possible cause has been tentatively indicted, a leaf-infesting nematode. But bacterial or fungal pathogens may also be involved. FOR THE WHOLE STORY ==>   https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6467/786 [ Photo by Marqqq, CC License ]