TWENTY SEVENTH DAY

Tree planting 'has mind-blowing potential' to tackle climate crisis

Research shows a trillion trees could be planted to capture huge amount of carbon dioxide
Planting billions of trees across the world is by far the biggest and cheapest way to tackle the climate crisis, according
to scientists, who have made the first calculation of how many more trees could be planted without encroaching on
crop land or urban areas.
As trees grow, they absorb and store the carbon dioxide emissions that are driving global heating. New research
estimates that a worldwide planting programme could remove two-thirds of all the emissions that have been pumped
into the atmosphere by human activities, a figure the scientists describe as “mind-blowing”.
The analysis found there are 1.7bn hectares of treeless land on which 1.2tn native tree saplings would naturally grow.
That area is about 11% of all land and equivalent to the size of the US and China combined. Tropical areas could have
100% tree cover, while others would be more sparsely covered, meaning that on average about half the area would be
under tree canopy.
The scientists specifically excluded all fields used to grow crops and urban areas from their analysis. But they did
include grazing land, on which the researchers say a few trees can also benefit sheep and cattle.
“This new quantitative evaluation shows [forest] restoration isn’t just one of our climate change solutions, it is
overwhelmingly the top one,” said Prof Tom Crowther at the Swiss university ETH Zürich, who led the research.
“What blows my mind is the scale. I thought restoration would be in the top 10, but it is overwhelmingly more
powerful than all of the other climate change solutions proposed.”
Crowther emphasised that it remains vital to reverse the current trends of rising greenhouse gas emissions from fossil
fuel burning and forest destruction, and bring them down to zero. He said this is needed to stop the climate crisis
becoming even worse and because the forest restoration envisaged would take 50-100 years to have its full effect of
removing 200bn tonnes of carbon.
But tree planting is “a climate change solution that doesn’t require President Trump to immediately start believing in
climate change, or scientists to come up with technological solutions to draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere”,
Crowther said. “It is available now, it is the cheapest one possible and every one of us can get involved.” Individuals
could make a tangible impact by growing trees themselves, donating to forest restoration organisations and avoiding
irresponsible companies, he added.
Other scientists agree that carbon will need to be removed from the atmosphere to avoid catastrophic climate impacts
and have warned that technological solutions will not work on the vast scale needed.
Jean-François Bastin, also at ETH Zürich, said action was urgently required: “Governments must now factor [tree
restoration] into their national strategies.”
Christiana Figueres, former UN climate chief and founder of the Global Optimism group, said: “Finally we have an
authoritative assessment of how much land we can and should cover with trees without impinging on food production
or living areas. This is hugely important blueprint for governments and private sector.”
René Castro, assistant-director general at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, said: “We now have definitive
evidence of the potential land area for re-growing forests, where they could exist and how much carbon they could
store.”
The study, published in the journal Science, determines the potential for tree planting but does not address how a
global tree planting programme would be paid for and delivered.
Crowther said: “The most effective projects are doing restoration for 30 US cents a tree. That means we could restore
the 1tn trees for $300bn [£240bn], though obviously that means immense efficiency and effectiveness. But it is by far
the cheapest solution that has ever been proposed.” He said financial incentives to land owners for tree planting are
the only way he sees it happening, but he thinks $300bn would be within reach of a coalition of billionaire
philanthropists and the public.
Effective tree-planting could take place across the world, Crowther said: “The potential is literally everywhere – the
entire globe. In terms of carbon capture, you get by far your biggest bang for your buck in the tropics [where canopy
cover is 100%] but every one of us can get involved.” The world’s six biggest nations, Russia, Canada, China, the US,
Brazil and Australia, contain half the potential restoration sites.
Tree planting initiatives already exist, including the Bonn Challenge, backed by 48 nations, aimed at restoring 350m
hectares of forest by 2030. But the study shows that many of these countries have committed to restore less than half
the area that could support new forests. “This is a new opportunity for those countries to get it right,” said Crowther.
“Personally, Brazil would be my dream hotspot to get it right – that would be spectacular.”
The research is based on the measurement of the tree cover by hundreds of people in 80,000 high-resolution satellite
images from Google Earth. Artificial intelligence computing then combined this data with 10 key soil, topography and
climate factors to create a global map of where trees could grow.
This showed that about two-thirds of all land – 8.7bn ha – could support forest, and that 5.5bn ha already has trees. Of
the 3.2bn ha of treeless land, 1.5bn ha is used for growing food, leaving 1.7bn of potential forest land in areas that
were previously degraded or sparsely vegetated.
“This research is excellent,” said Joseph Poore, an environmental researcher at the Queen’s College, University of
Oxford. “It presents an ambitious but essential vision for climate and biodiversity.” But he said many of the
reforestation areas identified are currently grazed by livestock including, for example, large parts of Ireland.
“Without freeing up the billions of hectares we use to produce meat and milk, this ambition is not realisable,” he said.
Crowther said his work predicted just two to three trees per field for most pasture: “Restoring trees at [low] density is
not mutually exclusive with grazing. In fact many studies suggest sheep and cattle do better if there are a few trees in
the field.”
Crowther also said the potential to grow trees alongside crops such as coffee, cocoa and berries – called agro-forestry
– had not been included in the calculation of tree restoration potential, and neither had hedgerows: “Our estimate of
0.9bn hectares [of canopy cover] is reasonably conservative.”
However, some scientists said the estimated amount of carbon that mass tree planting could suck from the air was too
high. Prof Simon Lewis, at University College London, said the carbon already in the land before tree planting was
not accounted for and that it takes hundreds of years to achieve maximum storage. He pointed to a scenario from the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1.5C report of 57bn tonnes of carbon sequestered by new forests this
century.
Other scientists said avoiding monoculture plantation forests and respecting local and indigenous people were crucial
to ensuring reforestation succeeds in cutting carbon and boosting wildlife.
Earlier research by Crowther’s team calculated that there are currently about 3tn trees in the world, which is about
half the number that existed before the rise of human civilisation. “We still have a net loss of about 10bn trees a year,”
Crowther said.
Visit the Crowther Lab website for a tool that enables users to look at particular places and identify the areas for
restoration and which tree species are native there.

Bust of Tutankhamun sold at auction for £4.7m despite Egypt protests

The ‘rare and beautiful’ 3,000-year-old sculpture goes under the hammer in defiance of claims it was stolen
A brown quartzite head of young king Tutankhamun has sold at auction in London for more than £4.7m despite
Egyptian demands for its return.
The more than 3,000-year-old sculpture, displayed at Christie’s London auction house, shows the boy king taking the
form of the ancient Egyptian god Amen.
An unnamed buyer bought the head for £4,746,250 ($5.97m), including commission and in line with the estimated
price before the sale, Christie’s said.
Outside, around 20 protesters stood silently and held placards that said “Egyptian history is not for sale”.
Egypt has long demanded the return of artefacts taken by archaeologists and imperial adventurers, including the
Rosetta Stone kept in the British Museum - campaigns paralleled by Greece’s demands for the Parthenon sculptures,
Nigeria’s for the Benin Bronzes and Ethiopia’s for the Magdala treasures.
“We are against our heritage and valuable items [being] sold like vegetables and fruit,” said Ibrahim Radi, a 69-year-
old Egyptian graphic designer protesting outside Christie’s.
The 28.5cm (11.22in) high piece, with damage only to the ears and nose, was sold from the private Resandro
collection of Egyptian art.
Christie’s said it was acquired from Munich dealer Heinz Herzer in 1985. Before that, Austrian dealer Joseph Messina
bought it in 1973-1974, and Germany’s Prinz Wilhelm Von Thurn und Taxis “reputedly” had it in his collection by
the 1960s.
Hailing the piece as a “rare” and “beautiful” work, a Christie’s statement acknowledged controversy over its home.
“We recognise that historic objects can raise complex discussions about the past, yet our role today is to work to
continue to provide a transparent, legitimate marketplace upholding the highest standards for the transfer of objects.”
Before the auction, Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of Egypt’s supreme council of antiquities, said he was
disappointed the sale was going ahead, despite requests for information and protests from government officials and
Egypt’s embassy.
“I believe that it was taken out of Egypt illegally ... They have not presented any documents to prove otherwise,” he
said, saying that Egypt would continue to press the buyer and others for the work to be returned.
Former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass has alleged that the bust could have been taken from the temple at Karnak
during the 1970s.
Staff at Christie’s said they had taken the necessary steps to prove its provenance and the sale was legitimate. “It’s a
very well known piece ... and it has never been the subject of a claim,” antiquities department head Laetitia Delaloye
said.
Florida residents urged to kill iguanas ‘whenever possible’
Non-native species has begun to flourish in state’s warm climate and is causing damage
Non-native iguanas are multiplying so rapidly in south Florida that a state wildlife agency is now encouraging people
to kill them.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said people should exterminate the lizards on their
properties as well as on 22 areas of public land. It did not say how civilians should try to kill them.
“Homeowners do not need a permit to kill iguanas on their own property, and the FWC encourages homeowners to
kill green iguanas on their own property whenever possible,” the agency said.
Iguanas are not dangerous or aggressive to humans but they can dig lengthy tunnels, damaging pavements and
building foundations. They can sometimes carry salmonella bacteria.
Males can grow to at least 5ft (1.5 metres) long and weigh 9kg (20lb), and females can lay nearly 80 eggs a year.
“Some green iguanas cause damage to infrastructure by digging burrows that erode and collapse sidewalks,
foundations, seawalls, berms and canal banks,” the wildlife commission said. “Green iguanas may also leave
droppings on docks, moored boats, seawalls, porches, decks, pool platforms and inside swimming pools.”
Iguanas are native to Central America, tropical parts of South America and some Caribbean islands. They were
brought to Florida as pets or inadvertently on ships and have begun to flourish in the state, where the warm climate is
perfect for them.
Some have been reported in northern parts of Florida, but their spread is more limited there as they do poorly in colder
weather.
Another invasive species, the Burmese python, is wreaking havoc in the Everglades as they eat almost anything and
have no natural predators in the US, except for the occasional alligator.
Iguanas are allowed to be kept as pets in Florida but are not protected by any law except those prohibiting cruelty to
animals. The commission takes in pet iguanas whose owners can no longer care for them under an exotic pet amnesty
programme that lines up adoptions of the animals.

Largest earthquake in decades hits southern California

No serious damage or injuries reported after 6.4 magnitude earthquake, the most powerful to strike region
since 1994
The largest earthquake to hit southern California in decades rumbled across the region on Thursday morning, striking
a remote part of the state with a magnitude of 6.4.
The earthquake’s center was near the small city of Ridgecrest, near Death Valley national park and about 100 miles
(160km) from Los Angeles. There were reports of people in Las Vegas and Los Angeles feeling the tremors.
There were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries after the earthquake struck at 10:33am. A series of
small aftershocks followed.
It was the most powerful earthquake to strike the region since 1994, when the 6.7 magnitude Northridge earthquake
hit the populated San Fernando Valley. The Northridge earthquake caused 57 deaths and billions in dollars of
damages from collapsed buildings and destroyed freeways.
One of the world’s foremost seismologists, Lucy Jones, told reporters that CalTech’s seismology lab received a
warning about 48 seconds before the shaking started.
Jones warned much larger aftershocks should be expected within the next 24 hours.
Though there are fears of the so-called “big one” earthquake striking the West Coast in the near future, Californians
responded to the earthquake on social media with characteristic calm.
The director, Ava DuVernay, shared her Los Angeles-born grandmother’s unflustered response to the quake on
Twitter:
While others joked about the small impact the earthquake had in major Californian cities: John Vidale, professor of
seismology at the University of Southern California (USC), said if the earthquake had hit the city of LA, there could
have been major consequences.
“It’s a big enough earthquake to cause considerable damage,” he told the Guardian, comparing it to the 6.3-
magnitude earthquake in the city of Christchurch in New Zealand, which flattened parts of the city in 2011 and killed
185 people. “If this had hit in Los Angeles, there would probably be a five or 10-mile area that was badly damaged.
We’ve come along way since the 1970s, but there are still a lot of vulnerable structures out there.”
The fire department in Kern county said the Ridgecrest regional hospital was undergoing evacuations, but the extent
of the damage was unclear. Fire officials in nearby San Bernardino county said there were multiple buildings with
minor cracks, broken water mains, power lines down and rock slides, but that there were no injuries or fires reported.
Photos inside grocery stores and shops in Ridgecrest showed significant damage, with items knocked off shelves
throughout the aisles. Officials said at least five fires were reported in the area.
Even though the earthquake was outside of the city of LA, it could serve as a wake-up call for people to make sure
they are prepared, Vidale said: “It’ll help put people in the right frame of mind.”
The professor said he was also surprised at how strongly he felt the quake at USC in LA: “At first I felt the swaying,
then I felt a pretty distinct rattling, and could see the blinds moving back and forth … I didn’t know if it was going to
turn into something more violent.”

Donald Trump's July 4th jamboree: symbolic, jingoistic and untraditional

Some welcomed the rare plea for unity but others said the show of military might was the moment Trump went
full Roman emperor
All men are created equal. But one is created more equal than others. And his name is Donald Trump.
The US president’s unique interpretation of the declaration of independence was on full display on Thursday when he
staged a militaristic, jingoistic and untraditional jamboree at the Lincoln memorial in Washington to celebrate the
Fourth of July.
Trump did not fulfil his critics’ worst fears of a politically partisan, campaign-style rally with his “Salute to America”
event. Indeed, in a rare plea for unity as he spoke beneath the statue of Abraham Lincoln, he told the crowd: “We are
one people chasing one dream and one magnificent destiny. We all share the same heroes, the same home, the same
heart, and we are all made by the same almighty God.”
The president did, however, provide the bombastic show of military might that had been widely predicted. Whereas
he once liked to build suspense as host of the reality TV show The Apprentice, Trump now has the world’s most
fearsome arsenal at his disposal – and he showed it off.
He relished introducing F-22 Raptors and a B-2 stealth bomber that roared loudly over the Washington monument, the
reflecting pool and the Lincoln memorial. The rain-soaked crowd whooped, clapped, waved hats in the air and
chanted: “USA! USA!”
The showman president, speaking behind rain-streaked bulletproof glass screens, grinned widely and declared: “Great
country!”
There were several more flypasts in the cloudy sky by the plane known as Air Force One when the president is
aboard, as well as army, navy, coast guard and Marine Corps aircraft and, climactically, six Blue Angel F-18s. The
controversial event also included two Abrams tanks and two Bradley fighting vehicles.
In a speech that lasted 47 minutes, Trump laboured over a heroic version of American military history, telling stories
not only of the revolutionary war that won independence from Britain but the civil war (“Damn the torpedoes, full
speed ahead!”) and the second world war. He summoned military leaders to the podium, paid tribute to gold star
families and at one point referenced his proposed space force.
The president sailed close to one of his campaign lines when he claimed, “our nation is stronger than it ever was
before”, but otherwise swerved past party politics for once. “For Americans, nothing is impossible,” he said, reciting a
litany of American accomplishments over its history, including the moon landing 50 years ago, and promised “very
soon, we will plant the American flag on Mars.”
Trump had repeatedly dismissed accusations that he was politicising an important holiday, emulating displays in
authoritarian countries and wasting taxpayers’ money with the event, which the National Parks Service reportedly re-
directed $2.5m in park entrance fees to help pay for.
Thousands of people had gathered on the national mall, many wearing “Make America Great Again” hats, and some
waved “Trump 2020” banners. Occasional chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!”, “Four more years!” and “We love
Trump!” could be heard amid the constant thrum of military marching songs.
Tom Meehan, 56, a retired entrepreneur, said: “I felt very patriotic. I loved it. Everybody out here in the rain, one
country again. I feel more united than ever before. I think it was really wonderful, heartfelt, warm.”
Meehan, a Trump supporter from Clearwater Beach, Florida, rejected the notion that the military was overplayed.
“They’ve had military presence with our aircraft and tanks and all that before. President Kennedy had it, Eisenhower
had it, a lot of Reagan had it, so it’s a tradition.”
Kristy Swanson, an actor, tweeted: “It was incredible! So moving and of course I cried at the end!”
But in a city that projects power through monuments, statues and its own Capitol, critics said it was the moment
Trump went full Roman emperor, turning a traditionally nonpartisan day of events into a vanity project. Some
observers have been tempted to see the military pomp not as a show of strength, but of weakness – a harbinger of
imperial decline.
That also meant the plea for bipartisan comity was likely to fall on deaf ears. The congresswoman Eleanor Holmes
Norton, who represents the District of Columbia, accused the president of “militarising” the traditional celebration of
4 July and converting it into a “partisan political extravaganza”.
“Nothing could be more incongruous than seeing tanks on the [Washington national] mall,” she told CNN.
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