DONALD TRUMP has made good on his promise to put a wrecking ball through environmental protections. Notably, the US president has signed an executive order to rescind the Clean Power Plan, a policy that would cut emissions from US coal-burning power plants, and intends to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement.
It鈥檚 hard not to feel down. But reports suggest a more productive response: a global tree-planting project aimed at offsetting the president鈥檚 environmental impact is gaining momentum.
The brainchild of Dan Price, Jeff Willis, and Adrien Taylor 鈥� a scientist, a PhD candidate and a sustainable hat maker 鈥� 鈥淭rump Forest鈥� aims to soak up the 650 million tonnes of extra carbon emissions that would be released over the next eight years as a result of axing the Clean Power Plan.
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That鈥檚 a tall order 鈥� it would require more than 110 billion trees. But they have made a start: the project launched in New Zealand with the donation of 1000 native trees, and it now has supporters worldwide.
Reaching the goal would mean a forest area of 100,000 square kilometres; that鈥檚 about the size of Kentucky. But that would be spread across many regions.
鈥淭rump Forest would require 100,000 square kilometres 鈥� that鈥檚 about the size of Kentucky鈥�
While perhaps the most obvious challenge is the scale of ambition, Trump Forest will also face issues common to all carbon-offsetting schemes. One is verifying trees planted are above and beyond those that would have been grown without the project; another is ensuring they are in the right places. Planting in Earth鈥檚 snowy northern reaches, for example, can darken the land surface, only serving to hasten warming. Tropical forests offer the most cooling potential.
Other problems are possible. New plantations can deplete water supplies to other areas, reduce soil nutrients and create a monoculture. And when trees die and rot or burn, they release their carbon, so the fix could turn out to be relatively short-term unless planting is maintained.
Regardless of whether Trump Forest reaches 110 billion trees, its message has instant appeal 鈥� that despair is a dangerous response to ignorance. We鈥檙e better off sowing the seeds of change than sitting complacently until the US gets a leader who listens to science.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淩ight kind of growth鈥�