Worse case scenario.

[beastmaster]

I have been sick for a week and got sent home today for being to sick to work, So forgive my bored wondering mind.
I read a news idem that got me thinking. It was about global warming. It was saying that that this year we produced more carbon monoxide then ever before. That this years amount was higher then the worse case scenario at a summit meeting 4 years ago.
I once thought the whole global warming thing was hippy science. It was Natural geographic magazine that help change my mind.
How does this effect us in the arborist field? Based on no real science other then tree trimmer's logic, I can't help but wonder for one about the many new invasive pests we are getting, and the spread of new diseases, like sudden Oak death syndrome.Phytophthora ramorum isn't new, but it spread is a recent phenomena. Here in So. Calif. the last ten years has brought an on-slot of new pests from all over the globe. The forests have been being destroyed by beetles, borers, and engravers. These pest have always been here, but just in the last 20 years have they gotting the upper hand, because of stressed trees. I have worked on a gov. sponsored and financed mistletoe eradication program in our local mountains. Mistletoe isn't new, but the rate that it is killing its hosts seem to be.
This active 96 year old lady who still lives on her grandfathers 40 acres(plus a 1000 more)told me when she was a child the snow would knock the mistletoe off the Oaks and Sycamore, Now the winters are considerable milder. True? who knows, but you can learn a lot from them old mountain folk.
So global warming will effect and is effecting us now I believe. Us who work out in the environment should will the first to see the effects. I might be full of it, but anyone else see effects or changes in our field that might be contributed to our warming climate?

 

[BlackOakTreeServ]

LOLOLOL..:msp_ohmy:

 

[beastmaster]

LOLOLOL..:msp_ohmy:

OK, OK, I use to laugh too.

 

[Grace Tree]

You forgot to put these at the end of your post
You don't want folks thinking you REALLY believe the climate change nonsense.
It never passed the smell test from the get-go.
View attachment 205592

 

[Biker Dude]

There have been many studies which prove that increased CO2 makes trees better able to survive in drought or pest infested areas. Trees breathe CO2 and optimum CO2 levels for plants are around 1000 ppm.

It looks like we are at 389 parts per million now which is 140 parts per million above the average for the last 400,000 years and 89 parts per million above the last peak 330,000 years ago. Your assignment is to visualize just how tiny 140 parts per million is and for bonus credit figure out how CO2 could have possibly been at 300 parts per million 330,000 years before the SUV was invented.

Just for fun, here's a temperature chart for the last 400,000 years.

Did you notice that it was warmer 120000, 23000, and 330000 years ago than it is today during this catastrophic unprecedented period of warming?

 

[BlackOakTreeServ]

OK, OK, I use to laugh too.

BM, I hope you feel better, I just got over a small cold myself....so you can do this again

 

[beastmaster]

BM, I hope you feel better, I just got over a small cold myself....so you can do this again

I think I have the walking pneumonia, I'm to sick to fish. You know that is bad.
I say screw Al Gore, and all that politics that seems to be brought up when global warming is mentioned. I don't care why it's happening or when it has happened in the past. We can look at charts and what not, but to be honest they can be manipulated.
A few degree change in an area over several seasons can have a lot of impact. I am not on a soap box on this, I am seeing things with my own eyes.
Most Scientist who study this, if not all will admit it happening. The bickering is mostly over the reasons or causes. I'll take into account I got sent home with a fever today, :yoyo: but I am half crazy most the time anyway. But I read and research things and keep an open mind. I am just saying I believe and see evidence of what could be a change that Arborist should be aware of, subtle as it may be. Laugh I don't care, I think bigfoot is running around your area too I am just planting a seed. Beastmaster

 

[rmh3481]

You have to see that 'global warming' is really alot of smoke and mirrors being used for the distribution of wealth.

 

[treemandan]

Aww just shut up. Ain't nobody on this planet has any idea. Nobody. I am getting sick of people who think they do. Nobody knows nothing cept when its time to eat, die or screw... and that stuff ain't even working that great for us.

 

[thepheniox]

I still can't believe people don't see what we are doing to this planet. I know we will never run out of oil. Its endless. Oh and all the greenhouse gas. Who cares it will take care of it self. We burn fossil fuels like never before and people really don't think it's going to have an effect on the plant?

 

[beastmaster]

I sense a little hostility from some. I keep hearing about politics, reasons, causes, media hype. I don't care.
We've had two Ice ages on record. Climatic change happens. If for some reason some parts of the earth were getting colder and some a little warmer a cycle that has happened before(get reasons out of your mind)would it cause a shift in pests and disease, or changes in our flora? Could that be reason for the invasion of new pests that are being interduced to southern Calif. over the last several years? Let stay on the subject. This isn't a trap or policitcal ploy, just a hypothesis.

 

[the Aerialist]

Glacial Melt tells the story ...

Consider they the World's glaciers are currently melting at an unprecedented rate. This I would say if proof positive that the climate is warming. You don't need to be a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing.

Just this year I have seen way more trees in extreme distress with dead tops and wilting leaves. Surly if a rookie like me can notice this, the certified arborists here must be seeing this trend. Sad as it is, if the trees are sucuming to disease and infestations at an accelerating rate, then we in the trade will prosper as the planet as we know it dies.

 

[lxt]

AA, Now thats a pretty good post! Im gonna break the ice & send you a like on that one.


LXT...............

 

[lostcoastland]

smoggy cement covered LA and the desert and peoples use of water and the little heaters that turn on and fountains,sprinklers, low income people lettign hoses run into the sewer and insane traffic all confirm your vision beastmaster. people on the east coat get rain and snow and it's all naturale. in large western city's water and electricity are being sucked dry and heats produced from cooling the inside of your home with AC. People are gluttons and dont really have much to give back. they overthin street trees so they dont even have leaves to transpire CO2. They remove trees because the roots are breaking up sidewalks,ect. SOCAL anyways, not all but alot of LA and OC Also just because plants like CO2 doesnt mean they like elevated temperatures and drought. Forest like cool and wet just look at how healthy the northwest and NE are

 

[lostcoastland]

In our Field or Arborculture we deal with what we have topographically. Could be taking down as big of tree's as you can, could be clearance, could be all palm tree's, could be PRESERVATION, could be cheap contractual hacks mutilating hundreds of trees that might want to do it right or one guy in the backyard. The shame is when people consider tree's to be considered lieusurly and accessories rather than nature which is a whole. tends to gain a whole disposeability which carries on to the disposeable planet morons. still love hackign sometimes and watching it grow back perfectly round..wonder why i spent all that painstaking work restoring a crown when someone is stoked when i do as bad as a job as i can do just to spite them and there like GREAAAAT!! looks good:msp_confused:

 

[derwoodii]

The evidence based data supports what we slowly intuitively see & feel. What to do about it is vexed, as the flee fight or freeze response kicks in very very fast when we discover we are threatened by a product of ourselves.
I seen the changes slowly over time, sicker trees hotter days warmer nights price of gas is 10 fold since I 1st filled a tank while population now 7 billion. Sadly my mind says, move to higher ground teach your kids to feed & fight for them selfs, buy guns and ammo, sorry wish I could say sumthin positive, Hope ya feeling better after that illness Beast.

 

[the Aerialist]

Careful there doug ...

AA, Now thats a pretty good post! Im gonna break the ice & send you a like on that one ...

Watch out lxt you might actually meet me some day and find out that you actually like me. But on topic, haven't you seen a lot more trees in distress this year? It's seems like every Pin Oak or Silver Maple that I look at is showing signs of Wilt these days. There are whole sections of uncared for woodlots that have more dead trees than live ones.

As to the global climate; it has always been changing, but the impact of 7 Billion humans on the Planet is like the Wilt in a tree. We are choking the atmosphere with our emissions and clear cutting of wooded areas doesn't help in turning the C02 into oxygen. Humans are a blight on the Planet and Mother Nature will eventually respond by wiping the Earth clean as it has done several times before.

 

[sgreanbeans]

I remember when I had a new Hot Wheels. Had to show it to everybody, even if they already had it, I had to show it to them anyway.

 

[chad556]

A few years ago I heard a random fact about Maple syrup production. Upstate NY used to be a prosperous producer of maple syrup from its sugar maples. However, as the climate has changed over the years and things have warmed up, Canada has inherited New York's previous affinity for producing maple syrup. Makes sense, its now as cold in Canada as it was 50 or so years ago in upstate NY. Now Canada has the optimal sap producing conditions and its just a bit too mild in New York. Just an example that came to mind, I don't know for sure how accurate it is.

I love studying those graphs of past atmospheric data. Just trying to grasp the great spectrum of time is amazing. I mean 100000 years? I've only been around for 0.026% of that time period. I would have to re-live my entire live almost 4000 more times to experience that many years. Thats almost incomprehensible. I doubt anyone here could begin to grasp the sheer magnitude of that length of that time (while sober at least).

It makes me wonder if 120,000 years ago, early man was sitting around a fire discussing how the glaciers were receding and worrying about the wilting plants and dying trees just like we are today. You cant deny that we are a part of this system and our actions do effect it. However, I really think that we are more "along for the ride" than "at the controls" when we are talking about climate changes, especially over the long term.

Here's some food for thought: forget what the planet will be like when your great, great grandchildren are your age. I want to see what that graph will look like with the next 100000 years of data. Where the entire time period of human civilization, from the invention of written language, to the rise and fall of Rome to September 11th 2001 is nothing more than an single data point in a huge table of data. Who knows, we could be back in another ice age by then and our whole recorded history thus far would just be a spike in the graph like the one 120000 years ago.

 

[Iustinian]

my two cents

which, at the rate China is buying our currency is still at the time of this posting hopefully worth: two cents hahahahaha:

on one hand: one volcano eruption can do more damage in a month than we could do with our cars and factories in ten years (and there have been lots and lots and lots of them):

however - I have noticed that the extension offices have been saying: "don't get too attached to your evergreens" (at least in my climate zone); our chemical work has increased by 3-fold in the last two years due to fungus infections rhizospheara infections have increased exponentially; same with apple scab, and anthracnose infections and the like.

maybe there's something to it, w/e

I'm against our government making everything way more expensive for us (the hardworking taxpayers) when they can't get other countries like China and Russia to stop burning coal though. just saying.