3 minute read
ALMOST OUT OF TIME
Editor's Note / Dave Charles
“was going to write a piece about trees in this issue but you would probably not have bothered to read it. Plants are boring. They don’t sing and dance or rant and rave. They don’t burn down schools and vandalise railway stations or embezzle money, they don’t inflame the emotions with religious or racist propaganda or peddle narcotics or sex slaves. No, when it comes to grabbing the headlines, trees don’t really command much interest at all.
I was going to write a piece about trees in this issue but you would probably not have bothered to read it. Plants are boring. They don’t sing and dance or rant and rave. They don’t burn down schools and vandalise railway stations or embezzle money, they don’t inflame the emotions with religious or racist propaganda or peddle narcotics or sex slaves. No, when it comes to grabbing the headlines, trees don’t really command much interest at all.
To grab instant attention most media moguls encourage their minions to dwell on the deadly pandemic, brutal human cruelty and rampant politically protected corruption and theft…see, that has got your attention already
Strange to think that so many people on the planet have suffocated to death during the CoVid19 pandemic because they couldn’t get enough oxygen into their systems.
Have you ever considered where oxygen comes from? And what happens to the poisonous by product of our exhalation? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “One acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and puts out four tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people.” Trees also filter air by removing dust and absorbing other pollutants like carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. After trees intercept unhealthy particles, rain washes them to the ground.
We are in the ever-increasing grip of climate change which is not much fun, really. Trees control climate by moderating the effects of the sun, rain and wind. Leaves absorb and filter the sun’s radiant energy, keeping things cool in summer. Trees also preserve warmth by providing a screen from harsh wind. Trees also lower the air temperature and reduce the heat intensity of the greenhouse effect by maintaining low levels of carbon dioxide.
Both above and below ground, trees are essential to the eco-systems in which they grow. Far reaching roots hold soil in place and fight erosion. Trees absorb and store rainwater which reduces runoff and sediment deposit after storms. This helps the ground water supply recharge, prevents the transport of chemicals into streams and prevents flooding. Fallen leaves make compost that enriches soil.
Where am I going with all of this?
- Chris Maser
Last week I was appalled at how contractors on the new Zimbali Lakes project have destroyed much of the precious vestigial forest on that property. What forest? There wasn’t much of it, surrounded as it was by a sea of sugarcane, but even the cane farmers had left that small sacred sanctuary alone. It was a precious island of life in the monocultural desert around it and, judging from the animal tracks in the bare earth ripped open by the heavy equipment, it is still home to a variety of creatures.
— Sir David Attenborough
To see what has been done to some of these old forest giants on the Zimbali Lakes precinct almost beggars belief. Obviously, they stood in the way of maximising the profit so they had to come down.
And that is what we are doing to the planet and, ultimately to ourselves. We may not be the ones issuing the orders and operating the equipment, but we are allowing it to happen and so we share in the shame.
I had hoped that new development in our region would be done more sensitively to the precious biodiversity that still makes living here so appealing. At this rate it will all soon be gone. If you care, start the conversation, shine the light, be the hand of God and make a difference. We are almost out of time.
**Dave Charles presents the Afternoon Show 1-5pm on 88FM Radio Life&Style - The Voice of Ballito
