Contributed by Gene Kelly
Once upon a time, long long ago, all the plants were humungous, like the redwood and sequoia trees. The world was much greener than it is now. The climate was substantially warmer. And all that massive quantity of subterranean carbon we call coal, was in the atmosphere, feeding those gigantic plants. That once upon a time is now called the Carboniferous Period, with good reason. Some geologists claim that atmospheric carbon and warmth predated the Industrial Revolution by at least 250 million years.
Then something happened. Towards the end of that geological period, when the atmosphere had approximately four times the carbon in it that it does now, the climate turned substantially colder. Of course, all that happened long before Chicken Little and Henny Penny said the sky was falling. H. G. Wells never did really build a time machine, so we can’t go back and nail down the causations. Those massive plants, with the exception of the redwoods, died off, formed bogs and became coal.
Cyclical ice ages followed, that formed glaciers, and the northern hemisphere was eventually mostly under a mile of ice. And that big chill followed on the heels, of what would now be regarded as a carbon-saturated atmosphere. So, it would be safe to say, based on settled science in biology and geology textbooks, that returning that plant-produced coal to the atmosphere where it came from, could have sustainable, renewable benefits for life on earth. Of course, if that return of carbon to the atmosphere were to be the result of human activity, it would be just as natural a causation as any other force of nature. How and when was it ever decided that humanity was intrinsically unnatural?
Now we have context for considering those beautiful giants, redwoods. Redwood trees could be regarded as the equivalent of crab grass amongst trees. They are remarkably tenacious. If a redwood tree is cut down, its roots will send up multiple sprouts, replacing the original tree with a vengeance. If it falls over and rots, its trunk and branches will send up sprouts. And of course, they reproduce through seeds. Redwoods have survived multiple mass extinction events.
Redwoods are valued as lumber, so much that they are under cultivation, primarily by lumber companies, on almost a million acres. Capitalism and profit motive have been an obvious boon to redwoods. During the height of the British Empire, they were transported all over the world via coal-fired steamships, so they are the epitome of an invasive species. Maybe the Industrial Revolution is the best thing that ever happened to redwood trees. Every continent on the planet, except for Antarctica, has redwood trees.
So, the backdrop for the most ludicrous exercise ever, in preservationist delusion is apparent. The Save the Redwood League has a charter that commits it to saving a species that is arguably the most resilient on the planet. They survive hot or cold; carbon-saturated or carbon-deprived. If humanity were to set out to deliberately drive the redwood tree into extinction, it is quite doubtful that they could develop the organization and tenacity, necessary to achieve the goal.
Yet an ongoing, decades-long, emotion-driven appeal has been made to solicit charitable contributions, to save the redwood. It serves as a model for the assertion that the planet needs salvation. Of course, that goal would necessitate an accumulation of unprecedented money and dictatorial political power. It would also require large quantities of jet fuel, to fly advocates around to impress each other, and the media with their altruism.
If redwood trees have cosmic consciousness as Mommy Gaia devotees claim, in harmony with Hinduism, then their sense of humor must be load tested, by the Save the Redwood League. And certainly, climate change is change they can believe in. The twinkle in James Lovelock’s eye and his toothy grin must also amuse them.
No doubt redwoods are grateful to coal miners and railroaders, for recycling their ancestors and improving their carbon respiration opportunities with sustainable, renewable coal. Redwood trees are a lesson in humility for humanity, during our post-modern cultural collapse. Will objective study of causations and rational thinking ever fully return, after the 60s counterculture, capitalist allergic delusions permeated society?
