{"id":92429,"date":"2021-10-25T14:48:22","date_gmt":"2021-10-25T18:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=92429"},"modified":"2021-10-25T14:48:22","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T18:48:22","slug":"global-warmers-taking-down-floridas-palm-trees-meanwhile-they-geoengineer-the-skies-via-massive-chemtrail-spraying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=92429","title":{"rendered":"Global Warmers Taking Down Florida&#8217;s Palm Trees, Meanwhile They Geoengineer the Skies via Massive Chemtrail Spraying"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Florida Is Ditching Palm Trees To Fight Climate Crisis<\/h1>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><iframe scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\" src=\"https:\/\/w3.mp.lura.live\/player\/prod\/v3\/anvload.html?key=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\"  width =\"640\" height=\"360\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>MIAMI (CBSMiami\/CNN) \u2014 When you think of The Sunshine State, beaches and palm trees come to mind. But what if those palm trees were slowly replaced with other trees? That could happen over time because of climate change, and communities in South Florida are trying to save the world from the climate crisis, one tree at a time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPalm trees do not sequester carbon at the same rate as our native canopy trees and do not provide shade, cool down streets and sidewalks to help counter the urban heat island effect that canopy trees do,\u201d said Penni Redford, the Resilience and Climate Change Manager for West Palm Beach.<\/p>\n<p>With atmospheric carbon dioxide levels today higher than at any point in at least the past 800,000 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Earth needs to remove it or humans have to stop adding it. In fact, the last time carbon dioxide concentration was this high was more than 3 million years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists are working on solutions to capture and safely contain atmospheric carbon. One approach is called \u201cterrestrial sequestration\u201d \u2014 which is essentially planting trees. A tree absorbs carbon during photosynthesis and stores it for the life of the tree.<\/p>\n<p>But Florida\u2019s beloved palms are the least effective at carbon sequestration. The average palm in southern Florida only absorbs 5 pounds of CO2 per year.<\/p>\n<p>Compared to other trees \u2014 oaks, mahogany, pines, and cedars \u2014 that can sequester more than 3,000 pounds of CO2 over their lifetime, it may be best to exclude palms in favor of more broadleaf trees or conifers.<\/p>\n<p>Kristine Crous, a senior lecturer at Western Sydney University, explains that palms don\u2019t produce wood, so they\u2019re poorer at storing carbon.<\/p>\n<p>That is why some don\u2019t think palms are actually trees at all. Botanists, ecologists, and forestry specialists all have a variety of definitions of what a tree actually is. (Palms are sometimes defined as big grasses, shrubs, and even trees, depending on whom you ask.)<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, the concern is that a standard passenger vehicle emits about 10,000 pounds (4.6 metric tons) of CO2 per year, which means we need a lot of trees to combat the amount of vehicles on the roads.<\/p>\n<p>Even though palms may not be great at carbon sequestration, chopping them down isn\u2019t the answer. Instead, programs in both West Palm Beach and Miami Beach, Florida, are taking the initiative to plant trees more adept at handling changing climate conditions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPalms, while an iconic part of Miami Beach\u2019s landscape, have moved from being an accent plant to a major component of the city\u2019s urban forest,\u201d it says in Miami Beach\u2019s program outline.<\/p>\n<p>Having that many palms will not allow for these cities to handle carbon sequestration nearly as well as they would have with other tree varieties. By 2050, Miami Beach\u2019s palms should make up no more than 25% of the public tree population, according to Miami Beach\u2019s Rising Above plan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSouthern Live oak, Quercus Virginiana \u2014 large canopy trees, can withstand occasional floods and hurricanes and are resistant to salt spray, provide habitat for birds and a variety of moss and bromeliads in south Florida,\u201d Redford said.<\/p>\n<p>Even without considering logging and deforestation, Mother Nature brings down a lot of trees. As Earth continues to warm rapidly, tree loss from hurricanes and flooding will become even bigger concerns in the future.<\/p>\n<p>However, in the case of palms, the best solution may not be to simply replace them with more palms. Instead, they should be replaced with trees that are better at mitigating the climate crisis.<\/p>\n<p>But we can\u2019t blame palm trees alone, since the type of tree is only one piece of the puzzle.<\/p>\n<p>Crous told CNN the age of the tree matters, too: Younger trees absorb less carbon dioxide than older trees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, tree species matter, some grow faster than others and so their response to elevated CO2 may differ, too,\u201d Crous said. \u201cBut it is important to distinguish between responses from younger trees compared to older trees.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Scientists set out to study whether you really can teach old trees new tricks to help them adapt to a changing climate.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Age isn\u2019t just a number<br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\nYoung trees and mature trees do not adapt to changes equally. So \u201cjust plant more trees\u201d as an effort to combat climate change is not a universal remedy.<\/p>\n<p>Climate change is making hurricanes stronger, knocking down mature trees, and even entire forests, which are needed most to ease climate change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlanting trees is great, but valuing old growth forest is equally important,\u201d said Crous.<\/p>\n<p>A joint research study from the University of Birmingham, Western Sydney University, Australian EucFACE , and BIFoR FACE is being done across the globe to study how trees adapt to the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p>The research shows that mature oak trees can increase their rate of photosynthesis by up to a third in response to higher CO2 levels. In just the first three years of the 10-year project, the 175-year-old oaks clearly responded to higher CO2 by increasing their rate of photosynthesis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe aimed specifically to quantify the photosynthetic response (carbon uptake) of these trees to future levels of atmospheric CO2,\u201d Anna Gardner said.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s great news from a carbon mitigation standpoint. We still need to reduce human emissions of greenhouse gases, but knowing that some species of trees are able to adapt to increased levels of CO2 is encouraging.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlanting trees will certainly help reducing CO2 levels,\u201d Crous said. \u201cBut as trees take a long time to mature it will be a delayed effect, and we really need to bring emissions down now by including other measures too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The study looked at a variety of things such as tree age and type to how much sunlight was available.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe type of tree most certainly matters in this regard. But more so, our climate models are using data from seedlings and young trees to diagnose how old forests will absorb future increases in CO2 in the air,\u201d said David Ellsworth, Professor of Tree Physiology at the University of Western Sydney.<\/p>\n<p>That is why it is so important that we save the landscapes and forests with very dense older and mature trees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur CO2 in the atmosphere and its impacts on climate would be far worse if we didn\u2019t have these old forests, and that these old forests can adjust and increase CO2 uptake into the future,\u201d Ellsworth said.<\/p>\n<p>The study notes that the amount of forest carbon-uptake in the future, and subsequent carbon sequestration, \u201cwill be crucial determinants of future atmospheric CO2 concentrations. So, quantifying the photosynthetic response under elevated CO2, especially for mature trees, is critical to understanding the carbon uptake of forests under changing atmospheric composition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Planting new trees in Florida<br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\nTrees alone will not solve the climate crisis, but they can help if we know how to use them properly.<\/p>\n<p>Redford says West Palm Beach gives out 1,000 native trees a year for residents and businesses to plant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have an active tree planting program,\u201d Redford explains about the program they are using in West Palm Beach. The goal is to help Floridians not only beautify their surroundings, but also to better prepare them for a future of global warming. In order to do that, Redford said, you have to be selective.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do not use our canopy tree fund to plant palms,\u201d Redford said.<\/p>\n<p>Miami is also joining the initiative to shift planting priority to a variety of trees \u2014 just not palms. Miami Beach\u2019s Rising Above program to combat the climate crisis includes an urban forestry master plan which details the environmental benefits of planting shade trees, including species such as oak, ash, elm and sycamore, in place of palms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt may seem simple to select trees, but it requires thought and planning to have the right tree in the right place \u2014 one that can provide maximum benefits with minimal maintenance and does not contribute to other concerns like fertilizer run off and higher costs for water and maintenance,\u201d Redford said.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also a plan for when construction leads to the removal of trees. Redford said that if a developer needs to remove trees and cannot replace them, they can pay into a fund for trees to be planted elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course, we try first to save the trees or replant on that location,\u201d Redford said. \u201cBut if it\u2019s not possible, we look to plant trees where they are most needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Planting trees to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is a critical component of climate change mitigation, experts say. But it\u2019s important to be smart about which trees we plant, and to put more focus on saving the older trees we already have.<\/p>\n<p>(\u00a92021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company, contributed to this report.)<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/miami.cbslocal.com\/2021\/10\/23\/florida-is-ditching-palm-trees-to-fight-the-climate-crisis\/\">https:\/\/miami.cbslocal.com\/2021\/10\/23\/florida-is-ditching-palm-trees-to-fight-the-climate-crisis\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida Is Ditching Palm Trees To Fight Climate Crisis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=92429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92429\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=92429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=92429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=92429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}