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+--- Thread: Now it's TREES that are a danger to our environment (/Thread-Now-it-s-TREES-that-are-a-danger-to-our-environment)
Now it's TREES that are a danger to our environment - Maxmars - 06-23-2024
New studies are claiming that trees are 'polluting' as our environment heats up.
I am having some difficulty keeping my cynicism from interfering with my thread...
From NewScientist: Overheated trees are contributing to urban air pollution
Subtitled: An aerial survey of Los Angeles reveals that high temperatures cause plants to emit more compounds that can contribute to harmful ozone and PM2.5 air pollution
I will point out up front that the trees are doing what nature calls them to do... but
... From jacaranda trees in bloom to fragrant eucalyptus, many plants emit a class of compounds called terpenoids. For the plants, these act as chemical signals and can serve as antioxidants. But in the atmosphere, such volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react with other pollutants to produce harmful ozone and particulate pollution called PM2.5. ...
These aromatic compounds have always existed in nature... and while the narrative identifies their presence as "a problem," it is not focusing on "other pollutants" with which they combine. Now it's the trees that are the problem.
PS - PM2.5 is the establishment jargon for anything which we can breathe that is too small to effectively filter. ((PM2.5, also known as fine particulate matter, is a type of air pollution that refers to particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less. These tiny particles can be inhaled deep into the lungs, causing serious health problems.))
This is the same categorization that is relied upon to damn folks for cooking food with fire (the nerve) in their homes.
I think it's almost ridiculous how we assume that what we have experienced in our atmosphere for countless millennia is a "problem" (which - I guarantee you will require tax-dollars to "fix.")
Remember, we are talking about Los Angeles California here. A city known for "smog." And while they strong-armed everyone over air pollution, their efforts we stubbornly resisted by the nature of aromatic trees...
I guess we really can't have nice things anymore.
Exactly why plants would emit more terpenoids under hotter temperatures is unclear, but it could be a response to heat or water stress, says Pfannerstill. Probably due to a higher rate of evaporation, hotter temperatures also increased VOC emissions linked to human sources – like gasoline, paint and even scented personal care products such as deodorant and hair spray.
