General Music Chat

TREES BY THE BAY BULKING UP Forests by the Chesapeake Bay are growing two to four times faster than expected these days, researchers have found - a signal that rising carbon dioxide in our atmosphere might be triggering noticeable changes in ecosystems in the Mid-Atlantic. And though scientists warn it's no panacea, the accelerated growth in stands of hardwoods monitored for the past 22 years is an indication that forests might dampen or delay the impact of climate change at least for a while, by soaking up some of the greenhouse gases that most scientists believe are warming the planet. (Baltimore Sun)


My question - will this accelerated growth affect the hardness of the wood? These trees are usually slow-growers, unlike most conifers, like pine...




from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35215890/ns ... ington_dc/

My question - will this accelerated growth affect the hardness of the wood? These trees are usually slow-growers, unlike most conifers, like pine...
from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35215890/ns ... ington_dc/

hmmm. excellent question. I suppose we should stock up on guitars before they make them out of jello

It should not affect the wood but it would have an effect on the safety factor of taller growing trees in general. Larger canopies will result in a tree that is much more top heavy. The strong will survive in a given forest and crowd out the weaker trees leaving many standing dead trees. Not to mention the remaining trees will fall easily if the root structure has not kept up with top growth which is likely not to happen because there is not enough room on the forest floor for that kind of expansion. In other words, forests will be a dangerous place to be. My opinion.

Nature has a way of balancing. I heard the Antarctic ice is INCREASING at about the same rate the Arctic ice is decreasing. Since the Amazon rain forest is being depleted we should probably start growing trees like crazy in North America to take up the slack. Your article sounds like the trees already in place are taking up the slack. There is much more deciduous trees in the Plains than there was a hundred years ago. I don't know if it means there's more biomass than the grasslands that preceeded the trees. I do know that quail are becoming scarcer and wild turkeys are becoming more abundant since the turkeys do better in an environment with trees than grassland. A few years back the mayor of Kansas City was talking seriously about planting numerous water gardens in the KC Metro area as a way of controlling run-off and reducing flood problems AND taking the stress off an old sewer system. More rain gardens would also increase CO2 consumption and help the environment. One of the reasons Katrina was so devestating was the loss of wetlands due to development. Cypress trees hold a huge amount of water in their root systems. The millions of cypress trees removed for development made flooding much more severe. Also the trees increase CO2 consumption. We think we are screwing up the Earth and to a degree we are. I'm not too sure that global warming is man-made however. (We've had this argument on here before.) I see nohting wrong with cleaning up the air, water, and soil. BUT I don't think man can control global warming. Why has Mars heated up over the last 10-20 years in the same proportion as the Earth? I've heard that over the last ten years the Earth has cooled slightly, and a few scientists are predicting some VERY COLD years starting the next few years. We will see what we will see (unless we all croak)...

If it weren't for us, grasslands and forests would replace each other in cycles. Grasslands give way to forests. Then comes the big fire, and grasslands take back their land. Most CO2 is NOT generated by man.

According to what I have read, mans share of the generated CO2 is just a pittance that makes no difference in the balance of things. Bigger trees, more oxygen for us to breathe.

I doubt that wood will change properties very radically if at all. If it becomes more porous, it will become a lighter better tone wood for the guys who like Alder / Swamp Ash / Poplar and the likes.

There will always be an abundance of hard woods. Even Swamp Ash is rock hard above the water line. What gives Swamp Ash that sought after quality is the porosity of the open pores below the water line. Only the first 5' of a Swamp Ash tree qualifies. So if there is anyone unawares of that fact, watch the weight of a guitar when you specify Swamp Ash.

Guitars made of the first 5' have a bright but soft characteristic, while those above the 5' line sound bright and more brittle.. like regular Ash.

But I just posted because I needed to babble on about something.

Good facts SLACK.

Man does not make CO2... that's the first error in everyone's argument. CO2 existed before we got here and nature had been busy for a billion years capturing that and storing it in the earth as coal and oil.

Mankind is the idiot that keeps digging it up and vaporizing it into the atmosphere so we can drive the SUV to Wal-mart and grab another 2 liter soda.

Humans produce, through respiration (breathing) about 2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. If you add the production of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels and other human industry (26 billiion metric tons) and the respiration of domesticated animals (6 billion metric tons), the total carbon dioxide production that can be blamed on humans, directly or indirectly, is 34 billion metric tons.

All of the crops and trees in the North American Continent were estimated in 2006 to be absorbing 1.6 billion tons per year. So for your question as to if the "rapid growth" of trees would affect rate of projected "Climate Change"... no.

Further, there are issues with Humans clearing the forests for land development, so we can't count on those trees being there. Also consider the fact that we are running out of potable water, so we can't even consider doubling the amount of vegetation to sequester the amount of Carbon we spew into the atmosphere.

We also must consider the amount of methane and other complex carbon based molecules that are being released from previously frozen areas, like the Boreal forests in Canada and Russia. Where decomposing forest litter was frozen and its "CO2" was captured. Now those forests are thawing and starting to release those "other" Greenhouse" gasses.

To the argument that we are just observing a cycle that exists in nature and we have no effect... I would love to agree with you. It's true you can piss in a lake and still drink the water... for a little while. I mean, you're urine is going to eventually make it to the lake anyway right... its the "natural cycle".

Except that as soon as Man moves into the area around the lake people are forced to develop septic systems or they start poisoning the lake and themselves with the sewage. Water must be "treated" before consumption because nature reacts to our sewage by adding organisms to eat it... and kill us when we drink it. That's the natural cycle, and we step right out of it and keep piling folks up on the lake shore.

Same with "Ice Ages" and periods of Global Warming. They are indeed natural cycles that occur to balance out nature. When a Volcano goes off and spews 500 billion tons of carbon and rock into the atmosphere, nature "cools" things off with an ice age. But it doesn't start as an ice age... it starts as a period of global warming.

I find it particularly interesting that "Climate Change" isn't as much global warming but spats of much more severe weather. More rain when it rains, larger and more frequent hurricanes and tornadic activity. Earth "slides" from the ground being saturated with water... 100 yr old trees being blown over from sudden and severe storms.

It all comes down to some simple science. We live in a terrarium. Everything we do on this planet has to be reprocessed by this planet. Those who feel like we are insignificant to the planet's "cycles" have a wonderful argument. Its easy to "question" something not fully understood... easy to find "proof" of alternate theories. Not as easy to understand and prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that we are soiling our environment to the point of disaster for our organism..

And most of us will be dead before the worst of it is realized... so why even worry about it? Why even consider the possibility that we could do it a better way? Lets just keep up our self absorbed ways of satisfying self and Arabic Oil princes... it'll work itself out right?

With all the global warming crap going around no one can measure or even take into consideration the effects of the sun. From my understanding, the temps on mars and all the other planets are also rising and cooling (cooling being a nasty word for the global warming fraud folks)

Everything goes in cycles and always has gone in cycles. The greatest threat to man is not what he does to the environment, it what he does to his fellow man. Some use bullets to destroy civilizations. Some use phony mathematics.
We have been in a cooling cycle for some time now. But that hasn't stopped the propaganda of global warming that hits the news media every time we hit a 95 degree day. There is a ton of money to be made selling um what? NOTHING!!! In the form of the carbon credit sham. A lot of wealth has gone into "green investment" Global climate change which is just another way to tax people to death and control the worlds wealth by giving it into the hands of a few.

Personally, I think SUV's and all motor vehicles should be outlawed. But do it first on all the other planets in our solar system. Evidently they all share the same temp differentials. That being the case, they aslo need to cut down on carbon based fuels.

And that would save us from..... just what exactly? Civilizations are destroyed from within, by their own politicians. Now that is something we can control to some degree. Naaaaaa Just wishful thinking. We only get to vote for those in the "pool" selected by the powers that be. The ones they have full control over.

Yes. I am a cynic.

Naturally, all will each believe what we believes. It is an argument that is frivolous. Junk science used by frauds hoping to get mega wealthy is my take on it all.

Slacker, you are a smart man. One of the few on this here internet...

Am I worried about Co2 levels?

Only when my beer is flat.

I must be a horrible, earth hating person because I don't give a ##$% about any of this climate change stuff. I suspect it's all BS, but even if it's all true, I still don't care. I'm too busy trying to stay afloat to pay twice the money for all these "green" and "organic" labelled products.

I must be a horrible, earth hating person because I don't give a ##$% about any of this climate change stuff. I suspect it's all BS, but even if it's all true, I still don't care. I'm too busy trying to stay afloat to pay twice the money for all these "green" and "organic" labelled products.

Here endth the lesson.
That is, I am sure, the same opinion of the majority of the world Dajax

If the bottom line is money. It's bound to be BS.

EVERYBODY TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND HOLD IT! Because according to the global warming fanatics, the air you breath out is a POLLUTANT! CO2 is a POLLUTANT now. Funny, cause I learned in school that humans breathe in oxygen, breath out co2, then the plants/trees take in the co2, and make more oxygen. It seems pretty natural to me.

I wish some of you would take a deep breath and hold it - forever. The fact is the world is rapidly losing its forests as man cuts and burns them to make room for grazing animals. This is going to seriously cut into the CO2 cycle but what do the dimwit conservatards care? So go ahead and post your made up "facts" that have no scientific basis or even a freaking link to support your delusions. I'm sure your great leader Palin will figure it all out.

Don't get me started on this puffery again! It is all a lie and you can thank me for keeping us all in the GREEN ZONE. [thats a joke]

I have the skills and financial abuility to load my roof with solar photo voltaic panels. I could reduce my $300 a month electric bill to almost 0.
The rebates right now are tremendous. I have one problem,,,,When you fly over my house any season except winter, you can barely see it. TREES.

I have some of the most beautiful 200 foot tall and more trees all around me.
I couldn't even begin to think about hurting some of these wonderful CO2 sucking babies. Some of them are much older than I will ever be. The extra work they create is alot. I guess that is my trade off. The good my trees do is amazing and I guess I have to be their guardian for now.