Sunday 9 July 2017

Technology Comes To The Aid Of Trees

When the world started, only primitive life existed. More complex living beings appeared little by little over time. And for as long as we can remember, we have seen a thriving flora and fauna out there in the wild. These vast ecosystems have been here even before man came to be. They have provided habitat and food source to the wildlife up to the present. Unfortunately, these rainforests are receding as technology keeps on progressing.

Technology and nature often go the opposite way. You can seldom say that technology works in the favor of nature because more often than not, it does more, and even irreparable, damage than we can ever comprehend. But this time around, technology is being used in a good way by saving trees rather than cutting them down.

The Uttar Pradesh forest and environment department has decided to protect trees through a smart mobile application to be launched soon by chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

Tree felling is rampant in areas including Noida and Greater Noida and officials are unable to act against those cutting trees mindlessly for frivolous reasons because it is not easy to identify offenders.

In Noida and Greater Noida, trees are being cut for developmental projects, often without permission from the forest department. Even residents cut trees to make way for parking space. The forest department, in many cases, do not get to know about tree felling instances as there are no complaints lodged.

“Many a time, people do not file a complaint because the process is tedious. We have decided to come up with an app to make filing of the complaint easier. The app will be available on Google Playstore. Anyone can click a picture of a tree being cut, mark the location and send it on the app. Our department will act swiftly,” said Sanjeev Saran, principal secretary, department of environment, Uttar Pradesh.

(Via: http://www.hindustantimes.com/noida/coming-soon-a-smartphone-app-to-save-trees/story-0HWh5qltbRr5gljVKH6pYI.html)

You can’t just cut down trees (especially in rainforests and other protected areas) because you want to. You need to secure permits from respective government agencies before you can do such a thing. This helpful app can empower ordinary individuals in reporting complaints involving tree abuse so that appropriate actions can be taken to address it and no more trees succumb to the will of man.

It's not everyday that you meet someone like Haritha Rao. The 19-year-old student of environmental science at Mount Carmel College has mapped 600 trees since November last. She recognises species and different types of canopies that trees have.

Rao and many like-minded volunteers have been mapping trees in the city for Talking Earth. The nonprofit was involved in counting the number of trees that were slated to be wiped out by the steel flyover, which was later scrapped.

Rao, a botany student, believes the mapping exercise has taught her much more than her textbooks did."It is time we as citizens know our trees, why they fall and also what trees need to be planted instead of just randomly planting trees without understanding their life cycle," she says.

(Via: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/security-tech/technology/coming-soon-an-app-to-map-citys-shrinking-green-cover/articleshow/58819568.cms)

Technology can be your friend or foe depending on how you use it. The problem with people nowadays is that we use technology to make our lives easier at the expense of the environment. It is a breath of fresh air to finally hear about it being put to good use in helping protect the environment because every effort counts when it comes to environment conservation because the odds are great.

However, there are instances when trees can be dangerous too especially the big ones that fall on houses, other properties and even on people and animals. When trees fall, it is better to get the stump removed too, so you can plant a new one in its wake. The fallen tree can be used in various projects such as furniture making or even used in cooking or making fire. For professional trump removal services, http://www.allcleartree.com/stump-removal got everything covered for you at a reasonable price.

The following blog post Technology Comes To The Aid Of Trees is available on ACTS



source http://www.allcleartree.com/removal/technology-comes-aid-trees

Sunday 2 July 2017

Trees Know How To Socialize Too

We all know that humans are social animals but do you know that trees are social in nature too? Over the course of time, trees have also evolved in response to stressors or triggers in their environment. We just don’t often hear about it but trees live a pretty interesting life as well. They do look after each other. For instance, let’s take a closer look at acacia trees. They release chemicals once giraffes start munching on their leaves to inform other nearby acacia trees, so they can produce a toxic chemical to protect them even before the giraffe reaches them.

Experts who specialize in trees have conducted experiments and studies to prove that trees interact with one another, do even the mundane of things like going to the toilet annually, and even have sex like humans do. These studies encourage people to see trees in a different light and don’t just think of them as inanimate beings that we believe them to be for deep down, they have feelings too.

Trees are social creatures that mother their young, talk to each other, experience pain, remember things and have sex with each other, a bestselling author has said.

If that persuades you to go and hug the nearest tree, then great, said Peter Wohlleben. Just avoid a birch: “It is not very sociable. Try a beech.”

It’s not surprising to find out that trees are sociable since they are also living things like us humans. The only difference is that we don’t hear them speak or act out how they feel but maybe they do, we’re just oblivious to it or care too little to notice.

Wohlleben wants society to be more aware of trees’ “feelings”. Trees that are close to street lights, which burn all night, will die earlier, he said.

Pollarding trees – removing the upper branches to promote a dense head of foliage – is also a bad thing. “It is like cutting your fingers, it hurts and it damages the tree very heavily. A wound more than 3cm deep can cause a fungal infection and perhaps 10 or 20 years later the tree will rot.”

He said people pruning trees were often not particularly educated about what they were doing, and that they were in effect killing trees.

(Via: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/31/trees-talk-have-sex-look-after-young-peter-wohlleben-hay-festival)

Think that you’re so tech-savvy yourself since you are well-versed on the World Wide Web. The trees also have this extensive network known as the “Wood Wide Web”, a fungal network where trees send electric signals to each other in the face of danger. Indeed, there are so much more to a tree’s life that we’ll ever get to know of.

Streetlights are causing the urban trees of the towns and cities of the planet to stay up past their bedtimes, as the natural world falls victim to the modern world's need to have an electric light illuminating everything all the time.

This is coming from tree expert Peter Wohlleben, who says there's lots of research pointing out that city trees growing near streetlights die sooner than their rural equivalents. This is because trees need to sort of sleep a bit at night too, with the artificial lights also affecting their leaf and blossom-producing schedules, further impacting upon their health.

(Via: http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2017/06/trees-are-staying-up-too-late-as-well/)

If the premise is true, then trees have been suffering for a while now in the hands of man. Jungles and rainforests disappear at such a quick pace leaving thousands of wildlife and insect species devoid of a home in a world that is increasingly becoming inhospitable. On the other hand, plants planted in crowded cities also suffer from the loneliness of their isolation and likewise subjected to various types of pollution that aren't doing them any favor at all.

Whether you believe that trees are social beings or not are purely subjective. Big trees in big cities can pose a danger to people and properties too. Since we don’t want to endanger human life but want to refrain from cutting down more trees, the answer is simple: http://www.allcleartree.com/trimming. No to minimal problems will arise if we learn to coexist with all the living things on the planet. And because trees can’t speak for themselves, let us take the initiative to do the right thing on their behalf so everyone lives harmoniously for all eternity.

Trees Know How To Socialize Too is republished from All Clear Tree Service's Blog



source http://www.allcleartree.com/trimming/trees-know-socialize