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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tree bark absorbs significant methane, a potent greenhouse gas.</li><li>Methane has 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over two decades.</li></ul>Trees are a more powerful climate solution than previously known.Microbes living in tree bark are absorbing methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere on a massive scale, <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=0f9cb2b791330408d51c02001bc32140a12dd4aecfbdbc6e0e63af59838ff557&amp;postID=66a24d48c79d31931d8590cd&amp;postSlug=a-groundbreaking-new-reason-to-plant-more-trees-2024-7&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41586-024-07592-w">a study published in the journal Nature</a> found. Trees are sucking up just as much, if not more, methane than soil does — the only other known natural sink on Earth."We've been undervaluing trees for their climate benefits," Vincent Gauci, a professor at the University of Birmingham and the lead author of the study, told Business Insider. "This is a new nature-based climate solution."Both natural and human-made methane emissions from wetlands, cows, landfills, and burning fossil fuels are on the rise. The gas has 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over two decades, which is why climate scientists say one of the fastest ways to slow global warming is cutting methane emissions and harnessing natural ways to remove it from the atmosphere.While trees' ability to breathe in carbon dioxide and pump oxygen back out is well understood, their relationship to methane is more complex. Gauci said he was surprised by the findings, which were pieced together over a decade by a team of international researchers measuring methane from trees in countries including Brazil, Peru, Panama, the UK, and Sweden.In <a target="_blank" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29211724/">a 2017 study</a>, they found that trees in Amazon floodplains emitted more methane than they absorbed. However, as researchers expanded their data collection to tropical, temperate, and boreal forests that are above floodplains — also known as upland — an opposite trend emerged.<div type="image" title="A researchers positions a gas exchange chambers on a tree to measure methane." height="1000" width="1500" msid="112019914" hostid="261" sizebytes="298702"></div>"We thought that if all this methane was being emitted from wetlands, maybe upland forests were contributing small amounts of emissions, too," Gauci said. "What we found is that at the bottom-most meter of the tree, they do give off a little bit of methane. But the situation switches when you go up the trunk. We measured 2, 5, and 11 meters above the forest floor."Tropical trees absorbed the most methane, probably because their methane-eating microbes thrive in warm conditions. But on average, trees' woody surface makes them about 10% more climate-beneficial than previously thought, the researchers found.Gauci noted that there are far more upland forests than wetland forests. To estimate the full scope of climate benefits, his team had to quantify the surface area of all the tree bark in the world for the first time. They used "terrestrial laser scanners" that detect 3D tree structures.If all the tree bark in the world were laid flat, it would cover Earth's land surface, the study found. And it may be removing between 25 million tons and 50 million tons of methane from the atmosphere, the researchers calculated. At that higher level, trees could be removing a couple times as much methane than what's released by Arctic permafrost that's melting, Gauci said.He added that the findings helped close a discrepancy in the global methane budget. Satellites detect lower methane emissions than what scientists have found on the ground, implying that such "bottom-up" studies either overestimated methane emissions or missed a sink."Tree woody surfaces add a third dimension to the way life on Earth interacts with the atmosphere, and this third dimension is teeming with life, and with surprises," Yadvinder Malhi, a University of Oxford professor and coauthor of the study, said.

Scientists found a groundbreaking new reason to plant more trees 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>If you've got a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/christmas-tree-farm-selling-owner-how-to-grow-fir-2022-11">live Christmas tree</a>, there are a few things you can do to keep it fresh.</li><li>Two Christmas tree experts gave some tips on keeping a real tree in good shape through the holidays.</li></ul>Once you've <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/choose-rockefeller-center-christmas-tree-new-york-city-2022-11">picked out the perfect Christmas tree</a>, there are three things to remember when it comes to making it last through the holidays: fresh tree, fresh cut, fresh water."That's really the key thing in all of this, is to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/no-christmas-tree-shortage-canada-wildfires-experts-2023-11">get a tree that's fresh</a>," Bert Cregg, a professor in the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University, told Business Insider.Here are a few steps you can take to make sure your tree looks as good <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/professional-christmas-decorator-owns-chicago-family-business-2022-12">as the ornaments</a> throughout the holiday season.<h2>Find a fresh tree</h2>When you're inspecting which tree to take home, Cregg recommends doing a pull test. "Take your thumb and forefinger and kind of pull along the chute," he said. "You shouldn't have needles coming off in your hand."Cregg said Fraser and Noble firs are both known for their needle retention. "If you take care of [your tree] properly, with those species, you shouldn't have any problems," he said.<h2>Give the trunk a fresh cut</h2>Both experts said before you put the tree in its stand, saw off about an inch from the bottom of the trunk. The workers on a tree lot may cut it for you. It's especially important for trees that have been shipped from different parts of the country.<div type="image" title="A person wearing gloves saws the trunk of an evergreen tree with a red saw" height="1500" width="2240" msid="105516380" hostid="261"></div>Once a tree is harvested, it may take a couple of days before it arrives at a store. "Removing any of the grime or resin that's accumulated to open up the vasculature is important," Justin G. A. Whitehill, lead of the <a target="_blank" href="https://research.cnr.ncsu.edu/whitehilllab/justin-g-a-whitehill-ph-d/">Christmas Tree Genetics Program</a> at North Carolina State University, told BI.Clearing away that residue "makes it easier for the tree to take up water," Cregg said.<h2>Provide plenty of fresh water</h2>Keeping your tree hydrated is crucial. "Get the tree into fresh, clean water as fast as possible," Whitehill said.Both Whitehill and Cregg said trees can suck up a lot of water in the first week or so. After that, you won't need to refill the container as often."We recommend the stand should hold about a quart of water for every inch of diameter of the trunk where the cut is," Cregg said. A 7-foot tree may have a 3-inch diameter, so a suitable stand should hold 3 quarts (0.75 gallons) of water, for example.<div type="image" title="A man in a Santa hat with a child on his shoulders drags a Balsam fir among many other snow-covered trees" height="1500" width="2729" msid="105516381" hostid="261"></div>In this case, you may want to go for substance over style. "Oftentimes it's actually the less expensive, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/guides/home/best-christmas-tree-stand">plastic stands</a> that hold more water," Cregg said.If the stand runs dry, it can be difficult to get the tree to take up water again, Cregg said. That's why it's important to keep checking the water level.<h2>Just use tap water</h2>Maybe you've heard about adding aspirin, soda, or bleach to your tree's water supply. That's unnecessary, Cregg said. "The research has shown just <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bottled-water-facts-science-healthy-2017-4">fresh tap water</a> is all people need to do — and plenty of it," he said. "Just keep that reservoir filled."

Keep your Christmas tree fresh through New Years with tips from plant scientists

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Bill Gates recently said that planting trees to address climate change is a "less proven" approach.</li><li>Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff took offense, saying Gates went on an unnecessary "tirade."</li></ul>Bill Gates and Marc Benioff apparently have very different ideas about how to address climate change — and how to spend their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-wealth-donations-charity-foundation-worlds-richest-people-list-2022-7">philanthropic dollars</a>.Gates was recently asked at the New York Times' Climate Forward summit what he does to offset his carbon footprint, and the billionaire said that he doesn't plant trees. He called it one of the "less proven approaches," and said the idea that climate change could be solved by planting enough trees is "complete nonsense.""Are we the science people or are we the idiots?" Gates <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/video/climate/100000009097622/bill-gates-climate-change.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. "Which one do we want to be?"Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who has put <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/marc-and-lynne-benioff-salesforce-announce-300-million-in-investments-to-accelerate-ecosystem-restoration-and-climate-justice-1030910154">$300 million toward planting trees</a> to address climate change, took offense.Benioff called New York Times climate reporter David Gelles to criticize Gates' opinion."I couldn't really understand why he was going on this tirade," Benioff told Gelles. "Number one, we all have to go net zero. And number two, we have to plant a trillion trees."Benioff has been outspoken in the past about corporate climate responsibility — and the best ways to reduce carbon footprints."We think every company should be focused on how to sequester the carbon that they're creating, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marc-benioff-corporate-climate-change-net-zero-2019-10">Benioff told Insider in 2019</a>. "It's not that hard. We can all do it very easy."He was a strong advocate for planting trees then, too."The one that we directly have in the most actionable form is more trees," Benioff said. "You can have 205 gigatonnes of carbon sequestration for every trillion trees. We need more trees."While <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/planting-trees-to-address-climate-crisis-2019-7">planting trees can help make a dent in the climate crisis</a> and protecting existing forests is important, studies indicate that it's not enough to singularly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/so-much-co2-planting-trees-cant-save-us-2017-5">solve climate change</a>. In order to capture just 10% of the carbon dioxide we emit annually, we'd have to cover the entire contiguous US with trees, Insider previously reported. While planting more trees is a positive goal, there simply isn't <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-1-million-trees-wont-curb-climate-change-2019-10">enough space in the world for all of the trees</a> we'd need.And studies have found that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/extreme-heat-climate-change-stop-tropical-trees-photosynthesis-kill-plants-2023-8">extreme heat could make photosynthesis impossible</a> for tropical trees and plants, meaning massive amounts of the tropical canopy could die off.Gates, meanwhile, prefers to focus on "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-says-not-hypocrite-flying-private-jet-emissions-climate-2023-2">climate innovation</a>," investing in climate technology for reducing carbon emissions and producing more clean energy. He's also said that it's unrealistic to expect people to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gates-telling-people-dont-eat-meat-wont-solve-climate-crisis-2022-10">change their lifestyles to solve the climate crisis</a> — like telling people they shouldn't eat meat or live in a "nice house."This isn't the first time Gates has feuded with another billionaire over climate action, either. He's also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-bill-gates-feud-coronavirus-electric-cars-2020-9#in-fact-musk-defended-his-role-in-the-coronavirus-relief-efforts-5">clashed with Elon Musk</a> over how big an impact Tesla has (or hasn't) had on reducing emissions.Neither Gates nor Benioff responded immediately to Insider's requests for comment.

Bill Gates declared it's 'complete nonsense' to think planting trees will solve climate change. 'Pro-tree' Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff accused him of going on a 'tirade.'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Trees stop making food for themselves when they get too hot, a new study shows.</li><li>If tropical air temperatures reach 116 degrees Fahrenheit, a lot of the rainforest could die. </li></ul>When trees get hot, their leaves begin to sweat. If they stay hot for too long, they deplete their water supply, exhausting themselves.It's then that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/food-shortages-2050-hacking-photosynthesis-2016-4">photosynthesis</a>, the backbone of plant life, breaks down. The plant stops being able to care for itself, and begins to die, scientist Gregory Goldsmith, an assistant professor of biology at Chapman University, said in a press briefing.So what happens in a world that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-alter-human-life-un-ipcc-report-2022-2">by all signs</a>, will continue to get warmer?For a new Nature <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=da31221de6745969d691d260c363d599dbb29cb4c4d9afbf73459b36e6d4e9e8&amp;postID=64e3b6b4f87b369c6da4588e&amp;postSlug=extreme-heat-climate-change-stop-tropical-trees-photosynthesis-kill-plants-2023-8&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41586-023-06391-z" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a>, scientists across the country found that photosynthesis begins to fail in tropical trees at 116 degrees Fahrenheit (46.7 degrees Celsius). The researchers also found that a small percentage of leaves — .01% — have already surpassed this limit at least once per season.If the world continues to grow warmer, massive amounts of the tropical canopy could die off. However, in the paper, researchers state that "it is still within our power to decide the fate of these critical realms of carbon, water, and biodiversity.<h2>What we didn't know</h2><div type="image" title="Round, green chloroplasts in plant cells of anacharis or waterweed, Egeria densa. Chloroplasts carry chlorophyll which makes them green. These chlorplasts actually circulate around within each cell. Live specimen. Wet mount, 40X objective, transmitted brightfield illumination. Note - very shallow depth of field, chromatic aberration and uneven focus are inherent in light microscopy." height="1199" width="1599" msid="103086689" hostid="261" sizebytes="103900"></div>Scientists already knew extreme heat makes leaves unable to photosynthesize, said Goldsmith, a co-author of the study. But "this study is really the first study to establish how close tropical forest canopies may be to these limits," he said. To determine the threshold for what too hot really means, the researchers used data from climate monitoring satellites, temperature towers in tropical forests, and countless sensors they taped onto individual leaves in the canopy.They studied five forests in Brazil, Puerto Rico, Panama, and Australia, <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/photosynthesis-may-be-failing-in-the-tropics-as-temperatures-soar">ScienceAlert</a> reported.These three perspectives combined to give them an idea of when the leaves, which are harbingers of health for the rest of the tree, begin to malfunction.<h2><div type="image" title="A Cruise self-driving car in the middle of traffic in San Francisco." height="2189" width="3413" msid="103086692" hostid="261" sizebytes="1385968"></div>Without change, we're headed toward disaster</h2>The nutrients a tree needs to sustain itself are created <a href="https://www.insider.com/guides/home/low-light-indoor-plants">when it photosynthesizes</a>. So if photosynthesis is interrupted, a plant will essentially starve to death. Since plants take in carbon dioxide when they photosynthesize, they can help moderate the amount of greenhouse gases in the air.But if a plant dies, all the carbon it's stored in its body gets released into the atmosphere. Tropical forests make up about <a href="https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Rainforest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">12% of the Earth's land surface</a>. So if this heat threshold is reached, that whole chunk of Earth's surface might begin to die off, releasing greenhouse gases into the air with it, said Christopher Doughty, a <a href="https://www.cdoughty.org/people" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">professor of ecoinformatics</a> at Northern Arizona University. If all the trees in the tropical rainforests died off, that would release an estimated 228.7 petagrams of carbon into the atmosphere, according to a 2012 <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230720042_Estimated_Carbon_Dioxide_Emissions_from_Tropical_Deforestation_Improved_by_Carbon-density_Maps" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a>.One petagram of carbon is equal to <a href="http://globecarboncycle.unh.edu/CarbonPoolsFluxes.shtml#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20a%20Petagram%20of,thousand%20kilograms%20(1%2C000%20kg).">1 Gigaton</a> (or a billion metric tons), so 228 petagrams are equivalent to six times the amount of carbon emissions emitted <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/co2-emissions-in-2022">worldwide</a> in 2022, alone."If that all went into the atmosphere, that would accelerate climate change," Doughty said. He was the one up in the trees, taping each sensor delicately to the tropical canopy.Though the researchers found that .01% of the leaves in the tropical rainforest have reached their heat-induced limit, there is room for error in the measurements, Doughty cautioned.They arrived at their measurements based on the data they were able to gather from key areas globally, but they weren't able to actually measure all the tropical leaf temperatures across the globe.<div type="image" title="amazon rainforest" height="2447" width="3931" msid="103086696" hostid="261" sizebytes="1421860"></div>They estimated them by combining their ground data with satellite data, but there might be slight deviations from their estimation. Even so, if no action is taken to prevent further climate change, Doughty said it's possible their predictions will come true.But making even moderate changes, like enforcing our current climate agreements and reducing tropical deforestation, would help. These sorts of changes could give us a good chance of avoiding what would be a tragic loss of some of Earth's most biologically-rich ecosystem. This makes Doughty hopeful."I feel optimistic," he said.

Extreme heat could make photosynthesis impossible for tropical trees and plants that may all die as a result, a new study found.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12137269" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="extreme-heat" source="Orion">Extreme heat</keyword> is the leading weather-related cause of death in the US.</li><li>Leaders in some areas are appointing heat czars to help fight dangerous warming.</li></ul>This article is part of Insider's weekly newsletter on <keyword id="11896309" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sustainability" source="Orion">sustainability</keyword>, written by Tim Paradis, future-of-business editor.It's sometimes called the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/stories/excessive-heat-silent-killer" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">silent killer</a>.We know about the perils of storms, fires, and floods. We take cover, run to safety, or move to higher ground. But <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/toolkits/extremeheat/default.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">what to do about extreme heat</a>?Heat is the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-heat-related-deaths" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">leading weather-related killer</a> in the US, even though most of these deaths are preventable. That's because, like a driver speeding down a highway, many of us fail to appreciate the risks we're facing.And as the planet warms, it's as if more of us are punching the gas pedal. Extreme heat demands — and is now getting — greater attention because human activity is dialing Earth's thermostat ever higher. Areas that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/13/phoenix-arizona-heatwave-daytime-night" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">routinely sizzle</a>, like Phoenix, are <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2021/10/07/phoenix-hires-heat-officer-cool-city-ever-warming-future/6029086001/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">appointing heat czars</a> to orchestrate urban-cooldown efforts.Cities and states are experimenting with plans to use <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/naming-heat-waves-save-lives/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">severity scales to quantify heat waves</a> and to name life-threatening heat outbreaks, as Seville, Spain, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/seville-launches-world-rsquo-s-first-program-to-name-and-rank-heat-waves/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">now does</a>. It's all an effort to generate the kind of attention we might normally reserve for tornadoes and hurricanes.It's attention that's deserved: The dangers from extreme heat can bubble over in minutes or across several days. Those at higher risk include <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/upd-07-02-18.html#:~:text=Working%20outside%20can%20produce%20heat,up%20safety%20glasses%2C%20and%20dizziness." target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">people who work outdoors</a>, those who <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2022/07/11/marion-barber-cause-death-dallas-cowboys-running-back-heat-stroke/10033698002/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">exercise under extreme conditions</a>, older people, and those who are poor.The most serious harms from heat waves are often <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-heat-waves" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">linked to higher overnight temperatures</a>. That's because when it's harder for people to find respite from daytime extremes, their bodies have to work overtime to shed heat.This is part of why heat has, in some years, killed more people in the US than <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r2/recreation/safety-ethics/?cid=FSEPRD494289" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and lightning combined</a>. <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/heatrelated-illnesses-heat-cramps-heat-exhaustion-heat-stroke" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Heat-related illnesses include</a> heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and <keyword id="12473634" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="heat-stroke" source="Orion">heat stroke</keyword>. Hot weather can also <a href="https://www.geisinger.org/health-and-wellness/wellness-articles/2017/04/30/22/01/summertime-heat-can-be-hard-on-your-lungs" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">inhibit breathing</a> and <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/heat-is-hard-on-the-heart-simple-precautions-can-ease-the-strain-201107223180" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">put those with heart conditions at risk</a>.When Jane Gilbert became the <a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/chief-heat-officers" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">first chief heat officer</a> for Miami-Dade County last year, she commissioned studies to understand who in the region was most vulnerable. The efforts found that areas with the highest land-surface temperatures saw greater instances of emergency-department visits for heat-related illnesses.Sections of the county with a dearth of <keyword id="6355381" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trees" source="Orion">trees</keyword> tended to be hotter — and poorer. Gilbert said areas with higher incomes, by contrast, often had more prolific tree cover. "They almost look like the same map," she said, referring to the overlap between wealth and arboreal plenty.To narrow the tree gap, Miami-Dade County is working to boost its tree canopy from about 20% to 30% by 2032. Part of the effort will target areas with less greenery.The county <a href="https://www.miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser1467835324112359" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">gives away two trees a year</a> to homeowners who want to help in the <a href="https://www8.miamidade.gov/global/recreation/milliontrees/home.page" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">green-up plan</a>. The program includes instructions for planting and care. Still, not all of the young trees will thrive. Progress in boosting Miami-Dade County's tree coverage <a href="https://www.wlrn.org/news/2021-11-16/miami-dade-county-florida-extreme-heat-season-cop26-tree-canopy" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">has proven difficult</a> because some trees, new and old, are damaged in storms or are lost when land is cleared for development. Yet drawing in everyday citizens to the effort is essential, Gilbert said, because the county can't otherwise reach its goal."We only own a very small portion of the land. And if we're going to get to 30% tree canopy, we need private-sector involvement in that. We're never going to get there without all partners." Miami-Dade County gives away about 2,000 trees at each of its adopt-a-tree events and, since 2001, has handed out more than 215,000 of them.Taking steps to cool so-called <a href="https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/climate-change-impacts/urban-heat-islands" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">urban heat islands</a> is wise because we'll likely face more hot days.Noboru Nakamura, a professor in the department of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago, <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021GL097699" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">identified unusual behavior in the jet stream</a> that facilitated last summer's historic <keyword id="11947988" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="heat-wave" source="Orion">heat wave</keyword> in the Pacific Northwest in which more than 1,000 people died in the US and Canada. The phenomenon is called atmospheric blocking, and it involves the jet stream stalling over a region."When this happens, weather stops changing regularly," Nakamura said. "This is typically how extreme heat and flooding conditions occur."While extreme-heat events are likely to increase, what's less understood is the role Earth's atmospheric machinery might play, he said."You may have some unexpected behavior of the weather systems and internal workings of the atmospheric circulation," Nakamura said, "which is chaotic."Insider is seeking nominations for its first Climate Action 30 list, which identifies the top 30 global leaders working toward climate solutions.Tell us about someone who you believe is doing some of the most impactful or promising work to tackle the global <keyword id="11896310" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="climate-crisis" source="Orion">climate crisis</keyword>:

Extreme heat causes more deaths than storms, fires, and floods in the US. Cities are responding by naming heat czars and looking for ways to cool urban areas.

The ecological significance of fungi cannot be underestimated. Apart from sequestering substantial carbon in soils, they serve as nutritional havens for plant roots seeking a rapid energy boost. Yet, these seemingly benevolent organisms also possess a notorious dark side, causing more plant diseases than any other terrestrial pest. <keyword id="44181" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="scotland" source="Orion">Scotland</keyword>’s Natural History Museum has recently disclosed a groundbreaking find within its fossil archives — the earliest disease-causing <keyword id="121368" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="fungus" source="Orion">fungus</keyword>. Dubbed the <keyword id="19757221" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Potteromyces-asteroxylicola" source="Orion">Potteromyces asteroxylicola</keyword>, this fungal plant pathogen is a staggering 407 million years old, and named after <keyword id="1393303" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="beatrix-potter" source="Orion">Beatrix Potter</keyword>, the renowned author of 'Tales of Peter Rabbit'. Beatrix, a <keyword id="2589900" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mycology" source="Orion">mycology</keyword> enthusiast beyond her literary contributions, gained acclaim for her adept illustration and scientific research on fungi. Her meticulous studies and detailed drawings, ahead of their time in some instances, have secured her a distinguished position in mycology. The discovery of Potteromyces is relatively recent. Dr Christine Strullu-Derrien, the lead author, stumbled upon the first specimen in 2015 within fossil samples from Scotland's pivotal <keyword id="19757222" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rhynie-chert" source="Orion">Rhynie Chert</keyword> site, known for its exceptionally preserved Early Devonian ecosystem. The fungus, unique in its unseen and peculiar reproductive organs, was found infecting a living plant, Asteroxylon mackiei, which in turn began exhibiting dome-shaped growths as a defensive response. To validate this as a new species, a second specimen was essential. Fortunately, another instance of Potteromyces surfaced in the collections of the National Museums of Scotland, confirming its potential as one of the oldest ancestors of disease-causing fungi, including those affecting the UK's native ash trees. Potteromyces not only sheds light on the evolution of fungal groups but also serves as a fitting tribute to Beatrix Potter, whose legacy now extends to one of the earliest fungi known to humanity. The research findings are published in Nature Communications.

This 400-million-year-old fossil is the oldest disease-causing fungus we've ever seen!

<ul class="summary-list"><li>New York City got its first tiny forest, planted on Roosevelt Island on April 6. </li><li>The planting method, developed by a Japanese botanist, uses minimal land to maximum effect.</li></ul>On a chilly Saturday morning in early April, a few hundred people gathered in a park on Roosevelt Island, a skinny strip of land in New York City's East River, to dig around in the dirt.The occasion was the creation of New York City's first tiny forest, a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sugiproject.com/blog/the-miyawaki-method-for-creating-forests">planting method</a> developed by the prominent Japanese botanist and ecologist Akira Miyawaki that's designed to accelerate dense growth to promote biodiversity. Volunteers had signed up to help plant 1,500 native trees and shrubs on a 4,000-square-foot plot on the southern end of the island."The idea is very simple, it's to bring back what was once there," said Elise Van Middelem, the founder and CEO of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sugiproject.com/">SUGi</a>, an international foundation behind the effort.The small, dense plot of greenery is just the newest feature on an island that's undergone many transformations.<div type="image" title="Volunteers and supporters gather in Southpoint Park on Roosevelt Island for a ceremony before planting a pocket forest on April 6, 2024." height="850" width="1280" msid="109287738" hostid="261" sizebytes="156598"></div>Before a Dutch colonist bought the strip of land in 1637, it was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nypap.org/layers-five-decades-deephistoric-preservation-on-roosevelt-island/">home to the Lenape people</a>, who called the land Minnehanonck. In the late 1660s, the land was acquired by a British captain whose descendants eventually used it for farming and renamed it Blackwell's Island. When the city <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nps.gov/places/blackwell-s-island-new-york-city.htm">took it over in 1828</a>, it built a penitentiary, the New York City Lunatic Asylum, and a smallpox hospital on what became known as Welfare Island.Curtis Zunigh of the nonprofit Lenape Center told attendees at the planting that the mini-forest is an opportunity "to reverse the process of many generations that have threatened the existence and the wellness of this land and our collective spirit."US Rep. Jerry Nadler, who represents the island, said the forest is a way to combat the climate crisis. "Let's not stop here. Let's make the Manhattan Healing Forest a model for expanding green spaces across our city."The island was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/02/archives/roosevelt-island-becoming-a-reality-town-becoming-reality-on.html">fully transformed in the 1970s</a>, after the city moved the last of its prisoners to Rikers Island, renamed it after President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and leased most of the land to New York State. As a way to lure residents to the dilapidated place, the state planned something of an urban utopia with hundreds of below-market-rate apartments.<div type="image" title="A volunteer at the planting of a pocket forest on Roosevelt Island in New York on April 6, 2024." height="850" width="1280" msid="109287740" hostid="261" sizebytes="266896"></div>Judith Berdy was 29 years old when she moved into a one-bedroom apartment for $321 a month on the island in 1977. Forty-six years later, she's still a resident — and the island's <a target="_blank" href="https://rihs.us/order-our-book/">chief historian</a>. Despite its newer luxury homes, Berdy says the island has retained much of the community feel it had decades ago. "It's a real small town, you walk around and most people know each other," she said.Other Roosevelt Island "pioneers" included current resident Christina Delfico's grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins. Delfico moved to the island herself more than a decade ago and founded a nonprofit called <a target="_blank" href="https://www.idig2learn.org/">iDig2Learn</a> that helps reconnect people with nature. She spurred the creation of the pocket forest when she reached out to Van Middelem last summer after reading about SUGi's work. Van Middelem jumped at the opportunity. A few months later, Delfico secured the necessary approvals from the island's authorities."We've been through a lot of changes," Delfico said, "So this restoration rejuvenation project is just what the doctor ordered."<div type="image" title="An aerial view of where Roosevelt Island's tiny forest is located (outlined in white)." height="853" width="1280" msid="109287743" hostid="261" sizebytes="88794"></div>SUGi has created pocket forests in 42 cities on six continents since 2019 — the Roosevelt Island forest is the group's 200th. Van Middelem hopes London, where SUGi has planted 23 pocket forests — a total of 30,000 trees on 2.7 acres — will be a model for New York. The goal is to create "biodiversity corridors" through cities, Van Middelem said, likening the project to "urban acupuncture."<div type="image" title="An aerial view of Roosevelt Island." height="853" width="1280" msid="109287744" hostid="261" sizebytes="301756"></div>Sharon Bean, who lives in Syracuse, New York, drove down to volunteer at the planting in honor of her sister, Kat Livingston, an avid gardener who died in January of cancer. Bean, a member of the Navajo Nation who grew up in New Mexico, believes kids, in particular, need to connect with nature. "They should learn plants first — our nature first — people second, things last. And it seems like we reversed it."<div type="image" title="Volunteers place native trees and shrubs in pre-dug holes in what will become a pocket forest on Roosevelt Island in New York City." height="850" width="1280" msid="109287746" hostid="261" sizebytes="227490"></div>Despite being designed as an urban paradise — a small, affordable town with plenty of green space — the island "is sitting on a lot of untapped potential," said resident and urban researcher Tayana Panova. Its urban design, Panova said, could do more to bring people together. "It has the bones of a great main street with a lovely main square," she said, but there's little to attract residents and visitors there.The waterfront, she noted, has outstanding views, but "there's almost nothing to do there - no cafés, squares, shade structures, plentiful seating, or other kinds of amenities and assets that we know make the best waterfronts around the world great places that people flock to."Ideally, the tiny forest can offer a new attraction.Olivia MacDonald, a 24-year-old copywriter who lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, read about the event in the New York Times and immediately signed up to volunteer."It seems very modern and almost utopian to think about doing something like this," she said. "I just wanted to be a part of it."

New Yorkers planted a tiny forest in a spot where the city used to warehouse prisoners and smallpox patients

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Beyond Meat products are appearing at Dollar Tree stores, according to shoppers on social media.</li><li>Packs of the brand's plant-based burgers and breakfast sausages are selling for $1.25, they say.</li></ul>Beyond Meat appears to be available in a new retailer: Dollar Tree.Shoppers have posted videos to social media in the last few days showing themselves buying the plant-based meat maker's products at a steep discount to their prices at other stores.One Instagram user posted a video showing several trays, each containing two Beyond Burger patties, in the frozen food section of a Dollar Tree store. "Some have been wiping out shelves but be kind and leave some for others if you can," the user wrote in the caption. "Don't know how long they'll be around so get 'em!" Another Dollar Tree shopper, this time on TikTok, reported finding six-packs of Beyond's Breakfast Sausage patties in addition to burgers at one of the retailer's stores. "Those burgers are normally nine bucks in Target," the user says after showing viewers her receipt from Dollar Tree. "Aldi's? Maybe $6, $7. So, for $1.25, you cannot go wrong." A Beyond Meat spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on the videos. It's unclear if the products are part of a limited-time test or a long-term distribution strategy. Insider did a quick check of prices for both Beyond products at six Washington, DC-area grocery stores. Two-packs of burgers were selling for between $4.49 and $7.29. Six-packs of breakfast sausage patties ranged from $4.99 to $6.39.Beyond Meat founder and CEO Ethan Brown has long said that Beyond's goal is to sell its products to shoppers for the same price as equivalent animal meat products. But realizing that goal has been a challenge. After a run-up in demand early in the pandemic as consumers bought more groceries to cook at home, Beyond's sales have lost ground. Revenue fell 9.8% to $419 million in 2022, according to the company's <a href="https://investors.beyondmeat.com/news-releases/news-release-details/beyond-meatr-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2022-financial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest earnings report.</a> Beyond Meat is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings on May 10. To increase sales, Beyond is experimenting with lower on-the-shelf prices at some retailers, Brown said during the company's most recent earnings call in February. Early results from those trials indicated that consumers bought more of Beyond's products when prices were lower, he said. The company did not disclose which retailers it was working with on the trials or other details about them."It seems reasonable that consumers may retreat from protein that can be twice the price of animal-based equivalents during periods of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-war-food-inflation-slowing-but-food-prices-still-high-2022-10">intense inflation</a> and reduced buying power, and that a reduction in price given this dynamic would spur increased consumption," Brown said.Plant-based meat makers of all kinds have seen demand for their products slow down over the last couple of years. High prices, taste, and questions about the health benefits of the meat alternatives are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beyond-meat-healthy-taste-price-impossible-layoffs-2023-2">some of the reasons</a> consumers have become more hesitant.

Beyond Burgers are popping up at Dollar Tree at $1.25 a pack, as the plant-based meat giant tries to boost sales

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Singapore is trying to fight rising temperatures partly by making its buildings greener, literally.</li><li>This involves covering rooftops and vertical facades with gardens.</li></ul>As the world heats up — and the urban <a href="https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/reduce-urban-heat-island-effect#:~:text=%22Urban%20heat%20islands%22%20occur%20when,heat%2Drelated%20illness%20and%20mortality." target="_blank" rel="noopener">built environment makes things worse</a> — Singapore is at the leading edge of efforts to cool cities.The hot and humid city-state is among the most densely populated in the world, and it's seeing its temperatures <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrQ9zjvmD6k" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rise particularly quickly</a>. The country approaches this task in various ways — from designing buildings to facilitate airflow to painting rooftops with reflective coats. One central strategy is to literally make the city greener by covering rooftops and the facades of buildings with plants.Cities often suffer from the <a href="https://climate.mit.edu/explainers/urban-heat-islands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urban heat-island effect</a>, when the built environment makes cities hotter than neighboring rural areas. Buildings and asphalt absorb heat, while cars and other vehicles emit even more heat, and a lack of greenery in cities exacerbates the issues. Plants cool buildings and cities by absorbing sunlight, creating shade, and releasing water that cools the air. Of course, they also absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to the climate crisis. Under its Skyrise Greenery Incentive Scheme, Singapore pays property owners up to 50% of the cost of installing green rooftops and facades. This amounts to up to $200 a square meter for roofs and $500 a square meter for vertical plantings, <a href="https://skyrisegreenery.nparks.gov.sg/incentive-scheme/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the government</a>.The greenery also reduces buildings' carbon footprint and saves property owners on air conditioning and other energy costs. And the green buildings can attract tourists looking to <a href="https://www.alajode.com/ecotourism-in-singapore/#7-8-explore-singapore%E2%80%99s-green-buildings-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">patronize eco-friendly businesses</a>. <div type="image" title="Singapore's three-towered Marina Bay Sands Hotel has plantings on its balconies." height="640" width="1280" msid="103790582" hostid="261" sizebytes="114272"></div>Many of these plant-covered structures have received international attention. One skyscraper that opened in Singapore last year has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/capitaspring-singapore-skyscraper-biophilic/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more than 80,000 trees and plants</a> on it. The city-state's Nanyang Technological University has <a href="https://projects.archiexpo.com/project-23031.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">been celebrated</a> for its green roofs. And <a href="https://www.archivibe.com/kampung-admiralty-by-woha-wins-world-building-of-the-year-award-at-world-architecture-festival-2018/#:~:text=Architecture%20Festival%202018-,Kampung%20Admiralty%20by%20WOHA%20wins%20World%20Building%20of%20the,at%20World%20Architecture%20Festival%202018&amp;text=Our%20congratulations%20goes%20to%20WOHA,their%20Kampung%20Admiralty%20in%20Singapore!" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a mixed-used complex with extensive green roofs won</a> the 2018 World Architecture Festival's award for building of the year. This is all part of Singapore's decadeslong effort to <a href="https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/a7fac49f-9c96-4030-8709-ce160c58d15c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">become the "Garden City."</a> Its <a href="https://www.greenplan.gov.sg/targets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Green Plan 2030</a> sets out a series of ambitious environmental goals, including doubling the rate at which trees are planted between 2020 and 2030, making at least <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/34976/SGB.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">80% of its buildings green</a>, and creating 200 hectares of green roofs by 2030. Singapore is also investing in a network of "green corridors," streets lined thickly with trees that also help to provide shade and moisture, naturally air conditioning the city. Some <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/03/health/green-roofs-singapore-buses-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">public buses</a> have even adopted green roofs.Singapore is not the only place investing heavily in planting more greenery to reduce temperatures and boost energy efficiency. The city of Basel, Switzerland, has been incentivizing green roof construction since the 1990s, and as of 2019, it had <a href="https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/en/metadata/case-studies/green-roofs-in-basel-switzerland-combining-mitigation-and-adaptation-measures-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more green roof space per capita</a> than any place on earth. Toronto <a href="https://www.canadianarchitect.com/canadian-precedent-spurs-green-roof-legislation-for-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed a law in 2009</a> requiring that buildings of a certain size have green roofs.

Why so many buildings in Singapore are covered in plants

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I moved to <keyword id="6356687" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="canada" source="Orion">Canada</keyword> for a job that I ended up hating. I realized I needed a change in my life.</li><li>I decided to spend a summer planting trees, making between $0.12 and $0.20 per planted tree.</li></ul>I <a href="https://www.insider.com/living-in-car-and-working-remotely-for-three-years-2019-12">lived in a tent</a> for two and a half months last summer. Nothing fancy, one of those pop-up ones from Walmart that cost under $80. Night after night, I zipped up my sleeping bag — two if it was freezing — and set my alarm for 5:20 a.m. It was my rookie season as a <a href="https://www.insider.com/planting-trees-to-address-climate-crisis-2019-7">tree planter</a> in British Columbia. As reinventions go, my transformation from negroni-sipping Vancouverite to tree planter was as total as any I'd experienced.Like most of us, I'd daydreamed about leaving the comfort of home to go and live another life. My move from England to Canada in 2021 was supposed to scratch that itch. Instead, I found myself in a job I hated in a city I didn't know. I quit after two weeks.That's how I found myself camping in a gravel pit outside a small logging town in the northern interior of British Columbia. My days started with breakfast at 6 a.m., sitting in a truck by 6:30, an hour's drive up a logging road, and then — come rain or snow or heat wave — the backbreaking monotony of planting.Before that summer, I'd never done so much as a <a href="https://www.insider.com/guides/travel/backpacking-checklist-how-to-plan-backpacking-trip">multiday hike</a>. The months of hard work got me in the best shape of my life, yes, but it's the inner strength that's lasted. Planting showed me that we are all tougher and freer than we think.<h2><keyword id="11994882" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tree-planting" source="Orion">Tree planting</keyword> is a tough job</h2>Each year, about 6,500 planters across Canada plant over <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tree-planters-photography">600 million trees</a>. Most people have a romanticized idea of planting, especially if they're not Canadian. When a fellow Brit first mentioned it, I pictured a bunch of hippies digging and planting the occasional sapling — possibly while singing. Many of the planters were students, working to pay for college or fund travels. A few were career planters, who would go on to other seasonal work like cherry picking, firefighting, or brushing — clearing land with a chainsaw to give young trees a fighting chance.The truth is Canadian planters are hard-core. The BBC even dedicated an episode of "<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3Pdg2Xq5Hz00lfJfKvsdBkq/tree-planting-canada">World's Toughest Jobs</a>" to the gig. From the morning's first bag-up until 5 p.m., when the last tree is planted, planters burn an average of 8,000 calories per day. That's the <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tree-planters-photography">equivalent</a> of two and a half marathons.Planters get paid anywhere between $0.12 and $0.20 per tree, depending on the terrain. And when you're getting paid $0.12 per tree, the incentive is to go fast. There was one planter at camp who drank mouthfuls of water with his PB&amp;J. He said it reduced the need for chewing. And less chewing equaled more trees, and more trees meant more money.During an average day, a good planter can put 2,000 trees in the ground. An excellent planter can manage 4,000. At the start of the season, I was struggling to hit 600.There was a moment toward the end of the season when I realized I'd done it. I'd stepped into a different life. It was our night off, and as we pulled up to the local bar in a white Ford 350 pickup — the unofficial vehicle of the logging industry — we were greeted with open arms by a group of pipeliners."Planters!" one Carhartt-wearing man called out, in much the same way you'd say "presents!"A few times, I came close to quitting: the two days we planted on a 70% gradient, the hours we spent replanting when a checker found a fault, the morning my closest friend left.It didn't help that I was a slow planter, or what we call a "lowballer," and therefore failing to make minimum wage. But somehow, I stuck it out. The woman who had quit a new job after a fortnight became the only crew member who lasted the season.On our final night, my foreman named me crew MVP. I had planted 41,520 trees.

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