6 month read-through/discussion of Gödel, Escher, Bach starting 1/17 on Reddit

Re:6 month read-through/discussion of Gödel, Escher, Bach st... by dangrossman on Wednesday December 28, 2011 @08:49AM (#3399726)

Growing trees to make them into timber, pulp, etc. takes CO2 out of the atmosphere. As long as you're not growing them to burn them, it's one of the most effective CO2 sequestration methods we have.

77% of tree usage in the US is for timber and pulpwood. Fast-growing species are planted and harvested over a 10-20 year cycle so that as each section is cut down and replanted, another section is maturing. It's both sustainable business and an effective CO2 sink.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:6 month read-through/discussion of Gödel, Escher, Bach st... by jasonwocky on Wednesday December 28, 2011 @10:03AM (#3399911)

Thanks. That makes sense. My brain farted and I couldn't make the leap after "What's wrong with killing trees? You're just taking CO2 out of the atmosphere."

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:6 month read-through/discussion of Gödel, Escher, Bach st... by yahelc on Wednesday December 28, 2011 @12:32PM (#3400531)

[citation needed]

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:6 month read-through/discussion of Gödel, Escher, Bach st... by dangrossman on Wednesday December 28, 2011 @07:45PM (#3402083)

It's really not. If you want a citation for "growing trees takes CO2 out of the atmosphere", a high school bio book will suffice -- the carbon mass of the tree is carbon extracted from the atmosphere (and dead plant mass in soil, but the carbon there came from the atmosphere too).

If you want a citation for growing trees for timber and pulp as an effective CO2 sink, the citation is right in the grandfather post (an international climate change study by the IPCC including researchers from over a dozen countries, how much more authoritative can we get?), or just look up the paper and timber industries on wikipedia.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:6 month read-through/discussion of Gödel, Escher, Bach st... by yahelc on Wednesday December 28, 2011 @09:47PM (#3402341)

I was more interested in the source for the specific number you gave. Should have been less snarky, sorry!

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:6 month read-through/discussion of Gödel, Escher, Bach st... by dangrossman on Wednesday December 28, 2011 @10:06PM (#3402366)

The US tree usage statistic originally came from TAPPI (the tree pulp, paper, packaging, and converting industry assocation).

[ Parent | on HN ]