Ask HN: Why don't you plant a Giant Sequoia today?
The General Sherman removed 1438.892 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the air. Divided by the American yearly CO2 footprint of 16.6 metric tons ,we get 86.7 years of CO2 sequestered in a single tree!
The giant sequoia grows 4 feet (1.2 m) in height or more per year Given excellent conditions the growth rings could approach 2 inch (5.1 cm) doubling the 100-year total to 34 feet (10m) in trunk diameter.
This is an idea to seed a new forest full of giants up to a length 275 feet (86 m) high. A forest that grows across the world and is going to live there for thousands of years. Who wouldn't want to grow up near a forest like the Sequoia National Park in America?
https://dewharvest.com/carbon-dioxide-stored-by-general-sherman-giant-sequoia.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoiadendron_giganteumI
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[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 36.9 ms ] threadAlthough it took around 2500 years to do so. If your calculations are right, the American should presumably plant 30 of these trees rather than one in order to have a more real-time impact. This is also assuming that each tree planted will follow something like the growth trajectory of the largest tree in the world.
I'm also not sure that this calculation is right, for example because using the approximate mass of the tree as the amount of CO₂ fixed by the tree neglects the contribution of the H₂O that was also an ingredient for the tree's cellulose content.
(I fully support people planting sequoia trees, though!)
Not suitable for my climate.
Planting trees isn't the problem - the challenge is having them live to maturity.
Bigger trees store more carbon more rapidly, as they perform more photosynthesis (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...) so work to preserve existing big trees.
A previous discussion on the empress tree. More climate options for growing. The top comment on the thread:
> So basically each american would have to cultivate about 0.196 acre of empress trees (792 sq meters, or 8522 sq foot) to become carbon neutral.
For me, I'm looking into where I could put some.
Like many feel-good solutions to major issues, there are a host of reasons why they're not already happening or why they wouldn't actually solve the problem.
https://www.airqualitynews.com/2018/07/30/plants-and-trees-n...
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/how-many-trees-to-plant-to-s...
Indeed the tree and where we plant them is important
And today when some countries like Switzerland have carbon capture technologies why more trees which needs more watter?
So after the tree grows, and captures the carbon, then what? Do you let it die, rot and release its carbon?
If carbon is the problem, because the earths total carbon is pretty much constant, then is not the problem how to get rid of carbon, or at least keep it in a captive state?
All the carbon, was captured in the ground as oil. Why not put carbon back in the empty oil wells? As in yard waste?
Therefore, why not aim for a more realistic goal: 1. plant trees in vacant spaces (such as highway medians), any kind of tree 2. Plant 1 extra tree instead of more lawn in your yard.
I’d guess these goals are more attainable and though would not offer a full solution, would be better than no option.