Why Scotland is planting 60,000 trees a day – Fergus Ewing

Scotland’s rich history and culture have forests and woodlands right at their core. 

Forests contribute 1 billion pounds a year to Scotland's rural economy, support 25,000 jobs and absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

Our ancient tales speak of the vast Caledonian forest, home to heroes and legends.

In the 1940s, Nan Shepherd, in her gem of landscape writing, “The Living Mountain”, observed how felling and regrowth in the forests of the Cairngorms marched with the history of the great wars of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Read the story from The Scotsman - “Why Scotland is planting 60,000 trees a day – Fergus Ewing.”

Peruvian culture threatened by climate change

C

ulture, in its many facets, will be a victim of climate change.

El Niño, a product of climate change, threatens many iconic cultural sites in Peru and so the government there is spending enthusiastically to reinforce defences to protect 22 coastal archaeological sites before heavy weather sets in as it is expected to do later this year on the back of an intense El Niño.

Peru this Week tells us more about this in its story headed: “Archaeologists rush to defend fragile sites against intense El Niño”.

Increasing temperatures threatening to disrupt Australia's sporting culture

Days of forty degrees and more will become increasingly common threatening to seriously disrupt Australia’s sporting culture.

A story on the ABC reports: “Scientists are warning the viability of Australia's $12 billion sports market is being threatened by global warming and extreme weather events.”

The story headed: “Australian sport needs to lift game on climate issues, Olympians and sport bosses say” says that those responsible for sport in Australia are inadequately prepared to deal with the consequences of climate change.

A report from the Climate Institute has warned that failure to implement the appropriate policies about heat could result in an athlete’s death.

Responding to climate change

(One fellow considering how we should respond to our human induced changing climate had these thoughts - )

   

     I find the whole issue of appropriate response to changing climate a complicated one but this perhaps doesn't have to be the case. 

   One of the main problems that appears to me is that we are expected to tackle the problem ourselves as individuals not because we want to but because we should. We are then left as individuals working out what size environmental footprint is acceptable which if the quest for minimal impact is taken to its logical conclusion leaves us as individuals wondering about our very existence.

   This isn't helpful and probably not even very productive. This sort of 'we must because we should' approach is probably best coming from a concept of what society in general describes as acceptable wether that be through elected bodies or from a general consensus of the population. I'm not suggesting individuals don't have personal ethical standards but that this is often not a main driver of everyday decisions in modern Australian culture. 

    As individuals we are driven by what we want to do and strive to those ends. If a social climate prevailed where individuals wanted to live in a more sustainable way then people would strive to do so, the breaks would be 'off' so to speak and individuals would be heading to a different set of goal posts. I am quite positive that we have the knowledge, equipment and resources for such a change the only change required being a social one. 

    As an individual I don't want to stop doing the things I enjoy, who does? I like flying, riding motorbikes, driving in air conditioned comfort, eating out and all those other things so for me the best solution is to either make these things more efficient with minimal pollution and energy input or give me something else just as exciting as a substitute. Our job as people advocating change is perhaps simply to describe that new world.