Planting A Trillion Trees

THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS was seventy degrees in my neck of the woods, south central United States, unseasonably warm. Then came the eight inches of rain. When it rains nowadays, which isn't very often, it rains extreme. When it doesn't rain, the drought is extreme. Extreme hot, extreme cold, extreme storms, with extreme wind. Everything extreme. Tornadoes flitting across the American landscape, on Christmas. Isn't that a bit extreme? We're likely to see more of the same, from now on, starting about now. Isn't that the predicted pattern for global warming? Meanwhile, Obama comes back from Paris, having lead the United States, kicking and screaming, into the Paris climate accord, a monumental achievement, a cause for hope. The first thing the Senate majority leader does is warn us all that Obama has made promises to the world that he cannot keep, promises such as trying to help reverse climate change, and save the planet for future generations. My my, such a kill joy. Through the miracle of satellite photography and computer analysis we now know that there are an astounding three point oh four trillion, with a "T", tress on planet Earth. We also know that there used to be twice that many, but a certain species of destructive primates have taken half of them, and continues killing trees at a net rate of about ten billion a year, which is of course ultimately unsustainable. All these numbers are surprisingly high, but apparently accurate. Organizations and individuals who had been talking about planting a billion trees, or ten billion, are now talking about a trillion, which would, it appears, be a good start. Somehow, though, you get the feeling that American conservatives will fight all tree planting tooth and nail; after all, what immediate profit is there in it?