Trees, Torah, and the Climate Crises

It’s an intriguing premise: what if we could reduce the severity of global climate change by planting hundreds of billions of trees to remove excess carbon from our atmosphere? A recent study published in the journal Science sought to provide answers by estimating the global potential of restoring forested lands as a possible strategy for mitigating climate change.

The international research team, led by Jean-Francois Bastin of ETH-Zurich in Switzerland, used direct measurements of forest cover around the world to create a model for estimating Earth’s forest restoration potential. They found Earth’s ecosystems could support another 900 million hectares (2.2 billion acres) of forests, 25 percent more forested area than we have now. By planting more than a half trillion trees, the authors say, we could capture about 205 gigatons of carbon (a gigaton is 1 billion metric tons), reducing atmospheric carbon by about 25 percent. That’s enough to negate about 20 years of human-produced carbon emissions at the current rate, or about half of all carbon emitted by humans since 1960. The study attracted worldwide attention, as well as some criticism within the science community.

Is the concept of planting trees to help combat climate change really going out on a limb, so to speak, or might it take root? Sassan Saatchi, a senior scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, believes it has some merit. But while he says there’s potential for using reforestation as a climate mitigation tool, he cautions there are many factors to consider and that planting trees will never be a substitute for decreasing fossil fuel emissions.

“I feel there’s a strong possibility a significant portion of these lands can be reforested to their original forest cover,” said Saatchi, an expert in global forest carbon stocks and dynamics. “It’s definitely not a solution by itself to addressing current climate change. To do that, we need to reduce human emissions of greenhouse gases. But it could still have some partial impact on our ability to reduce climate change.”

https://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_simard_how_trees_talk_to_each_other?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

Why JTree?

A call to Jewish climate action by Rabbi Art Green

Ḥoni the circle-maker once saw a man planting a carob tree. “How long will it take” he asked, “until that tree bears fruit?” “Seventy years,” the planter replied. “And are you sure you will live another seventy years?” asked Ḥoni. “As my forefathers planted for me,” he replied, “so do I plant for my children.” (Talmud Ta‘anit 23a)

This famous tale plants a shudder in the heart of the contemporary reader. What will be happening on this planet seventy years from now? What sort of world will our grandchildren be living in? Will there be trees? Will there be adequate fresh water? Breathable air? Will people be killing each other in terrible wars over scarce resources? And what can we do, looking toward the future, to improve the chances for future generations?

We Jews are planters of many such metaphoric “trees.” We teach Torah, which we call “the Tree of Life.” We pass on cultural traditions, ethical teachings, ways of living in gratitude for the many gifts we have received. In a heightened way, surely because of our past suffering and decimation in the Holocaust, we have a strong sense of the obligation to pass on the legacy we have received from the past. All these are meant to provide sustenance for future generations, “trees” whose fruit they will one day eat.

But today our earth is in need of real trees, not just spiritual or metaphoric ones. The rapid deforestation of our planet is a major contributor to the proliferation of greenhouse gasses and the decline of air quality around the globe. Soil resources as well are diminished, as rain forests and wetlands disappear, often due to human greed and indifference.

In response, it is time for us all to become planters of trees. JTree is a new international Jewish movement, led by rabbis and activists around the world, to encourage Jewish involvement, both communal and individual, in efforts at restoring and protecting forests, as well as new tree-planting, throughout the world.

We Jews have experience in planting trees. A century ago, the Zionist movement took on the task of re-foresting the Land of Israel, which had become barren. This effort mobilized adults and children across the Jewish world. But now we see that the planet itself is in need of such an effort.

JTree calls upon Jewish communities and their leaders to help take the lead in our campaign to plant trees and support forests, wherever they are needed. We can do so by contributing to the responsible environmental organizations listed above. JTree has partnered with the National Forest Foundation to plant trees.

A Time to Plant — עֵת לָטַעַת

From Hazon: The Jewish Lab for Sustainability, www.hazon.org/commit-to-change/jtree

Trees sustain life. They absorb carbon dioxide and give out oxygen. Scientists believe that planting trees is an essential part of the effort to limit climate change.

JTree is a call and an invitation to every Jewish community to play its part in planting.

We can do so by donating, by gifting trees on special occasions, by compensating for unavoidable travel and carbon emissions from our homes, cars and workplaces, and by planting trees with our own hands.

But… the right trees must be planted in the right balance in the right locations and with the correct ongoing care. Sustainable reforesting and rewilding must be done with the support and for the benefit of local communities. We are partnering with the National Forest Foundation to carry out our tree planting because they have a proven track record of doing just that.

(Planting the right trees in the right places with the support of local communities makes an immense contribution to the effort to confront climate change. But it is not a replacement for advocating for massive policy change and rethinking our lifestyle and how we consume. We need to pursue all these responses, and we hope that planting trees will be the beginning of our collective efforts.)

Each community can set its own targets.

Together, across the globe, the Jewish community can make a difference. We can help heal the earth.