Forest Whispers: Respecting Nature’s Kinship and the Hidden Dialogue of Trees

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Hawai’ian Kahuna Insights: Ancient Wisdom of the Islands

With the damage caused by the Lahaina inferno fresh in our minds, we went searching for Hawai’ian wisdom. We came across a very wise Hawai’i Kūpuna Elder, Kimokeo Kapahulehua. In this TikTok post, he shares sage advice that can benefit humanity, and protect our biodiversity.

@wisdom.keepers

Kimokeo Kapahulehua – Kūpuna Elder, Hawai’i Like / Follow / Share✨ @wisdom.keepers Uncle Kimokeo is a kūpuna elder born on the island of Kaua’i. He is dedicated to preserving and sharing his culture and traditions through his foundation @kimokeofoundation. He is a member of many canoe teams both in Hawai’i and around the world. 🌀For full interviews, community page and more join our WK Community on Patreon 🌀 ✨LINK IN BIO✨ #aloha #kupuna #elder #hawaii #wisdomkeeper #canoe #laka #mahalo #wisdomkeepers #native #indigenous #areyoulistening Film: @Jeremy Whelehan Music: Ynglingtal feat. Jhon Montoya WKTeam: @motherwaters @grandchildofthemoon Project: @wisdom.keepers Respect, Love & Gratitude. Hoomaikai me ka mahalo 💚🌿

♬ 【No drums】 Emotional space-like epic … – MoppySound

You cannot go to the forest and just take a tree.
You have to ask Laka.
She’s the goddess of the forest. That’s her child.
Why do you want to take her child without permission?
And as the canoe maker, and as…
He has to go up and tell Laka
“I’m going to take one of your child[ren], and I’m going to make it into a canoe.”
Laka will be very happy when you take her child and make it into many lives and serve many, many people.
We cannot just take.
We need to give.
So if you take one of her child[ren], maybe you should go plant?
And give back Laka 40 children.
Take the seed of the plant and take it right back to the same location because her children would like to be born with the parents, and the great grandparents, and the great great grandparents.
Don’t take her child from the forest to another forest because they will all grow better with their family.
Like us.

—Kimokeo Kapahulehua, Kūpuna Elder

Elder’s Wisdom is Backed by Science

Science suggests that trees can “communicate” with each other through a complex network of mycorrhizal fungi. This underground network allows trees to exchange nutrients, send warning signals about environmental changes, and share resources with one another.

Dr. Suzanne Simard, a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia, is one of the primary researchers in this area. In her studies, she found that trees can transfer carbon, water, and nutrients to other trees in times of need. She discovered that mother trees recognize their kin and send them more carbon below ground. They reduce their own root competition to make elbow room for their kids.

“When mother trees are injured or dying, they also send messages of wisdom on to the next generation of seedlings.”

—Dr. Suzanne Simard, Professor, RPF, Leader of The Mother Tree Project, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia

These findings validate the guidance shared by Kūpuna Elder, Kimokeo Kapahulehua.

Further, planting trees in non-native environments can have diverse ecological consequences. Research has shown that non-native trees can impact local ecosystems by:

  • Changing soil properties
  • Loss of humidity
  • Introduction of invasive alien species and disease
  • Negative impacts on biodiversity
  • Higher risks of adverse effects of fires and stores

When non-native tree species become invasive, they can outcompete, displace native species, alter habitat structures, and even change the soil properties and nutrient cycling.

It’s Time to Listen to the Wisdom

Whether we choose to listen to the wisdom of our elders or to science, climate disasters that are increasingly common underscore the urgency of listening and acting upon this wisdom.

Sources:

  • Simard, S.W., Beiler, K.J., Bingham, M.A., Deslippe, J.R., Philip, L.J., & Teste, F.P. (2012). Mycorrhizal networks: mechanisms, ecology and modelling. Fungal Biology Reviews, 26(1), 39-60.
  • Source: Brockerhoff, E.G., Jactel, H., Parrotta, J.A., Quine, C.P., & Sayer, J. (2008). Plantation forests and biodiversity: oxymoron or opportunity? Biodiversity and Conservation, 17(5), 925-951.
Maui, Hawaii 023 Lahaina, Banyan Tree, Allie_Caulfield from Germany, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maui, Hawaii 023 Lahaina, Banyan Tree, Allie_Caulfield from Germany, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons


University of Central Florida Researchers Unveil Breakthrough in Greenhouse Gas Recycling

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Laurene Tetard and Richard Blair
UCF researchers Richard Blair (left) and Laurene Tetard (right) are long-time collaborators and have developed new methods to produce energy and materials from the harmful greenhouse gas, methane.

In a significant step toward sustainable energy, researchers from the University of Central Florida (UCF) have innovated methods to convert the potent greenhouse gas, methane, into green energy and advanced materials.

Methane, with an impact 28 times greater than carbon dioxide over a century, is a notable contributor to global warming. Its emissions predominantly arise from energy sectors, agriculture, and landfills. Now, UCF’s groundbreaking methods might turn this environmental challenge into an opportunity, as they utilize methane for producing green energy and crafting high-performance materials for smart devices, solar cells, and biotech applications.

Behind these inventions are UFC researchers, nanotechnologist Laurene Tetard and catalysis specialist Richard Blair. Tetard is an associate professor and associate chair of UCF’s Department of Physics. He is also a researcher with the NanoScience Technology Center. Blair is a research professor at UCF’s Florida Space Institute. The two have been collaborating on research projects for the past decade.

Their pioneering technique produces hydrogen from methane without carbon gas emission. Utilizing visible light sources, like lasers or solar energy, and defect-engineered boron-rich photocatalysts, the process emphasizes the advanced potential of nanoscale materials.

Blair highlights the dual benefits: You get green hydrogen, and you remove — not really sequester — methane. You’re processing methane into just hydrogen and pure carbon that can be used for things like batteries.” Traditional methods, Blair notes, produce CO2 along with hydrogen. Their innovation not only tackles methane emissions but also transforms it into valuable hydrogen and carbon. Market applications include possible large-scale hydrogen production in solar farms and methane capture and conversion.

“Our process takes a greenhouse gas, methane and converts it into something that’s not a greenhouse gas and two things that are valuable products, hydrogen and carbon. And we’ve removed methane from the cycle.”

—Richard Blair, research professor at UCF’s Florida Space Institute

Additionally, this technology from Tetard and Blair offers the ability to manufacture carbon structures at nano and micro scales using light and a defect-engineered photocatalyst. Envisioning it as a “carbon 3D printer,” Blair notes the dream is to make high-performance carbon materials from methane.

“It took a while to get some really exciting results,” Tetard says. “In the beginning, a lot of the characterization that we tried to do was not working the way we wanted. We sat down to discuss puzzling observations so many times.”

Countries lacking significant power sources could potentially benefit, requiring only methane and sunlight to leverage the innovation. As Blair summarizes, the process takes a greenhouse menace and turns it into precious, non-polluting commodities.

Asset Managers’ Climate Pledges: Bold Promises or Mere Rhetoric?

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InfluenceMap

InfluenceMap Asset Managers and Climate Change Report: Climate analysis of the sector’s portfolios, stewardship, and policy influence, August 2023.

Despite the wave of global commitments towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, the recent study InfluenceMap Asset Managers and Climate Change Report: Climate analysis of the sector’s portfolios, stewardship, and policy influence by FinanceMap paints another picture. The world’s largest asset managers, controlling an astounding $72 trillion, are falling dramatically short of their ambitious climate pledges.

FinanceMap’s analysis scrutinized the strategies of 45 titan asset management firms. Their threefold criteria encompassed portfolio alignment with climate objectives, effective stewardship of their invested companies, and genuine engagement with sustainable finance policies. The results are concerning: a staggering 95% of portfolios failed to align with the imperative IEA Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario.

The research also revealed that these financial behemoths are holding nearly three times the equity value in fossil fuel enterprises compared to their ‘green’ investments. The definition of ‘green’ here leans on the EU Taxonomy and Bloomberg data. Equally alarming is the 45% dip in top-tier Stewardship asset managers since 2021, those once hailed for their groundbreaking climate stewardship practices.

Though European asset managers, such as Legal & General Investment Management, BNP Paribas, and UBS, demonstrate commendable engagement with their investee companies, their American counterparts present a grim scenario. US firms like BlackRock, Vanguard, and Fidelity Investments have shown declining or consistently low stewardship scores, hinting at a worrying trend in the US’s approach to environmental, social, and governance factors.

Even as these revelations come to light, the irony lies in the fact that 86% of these asset managers are members of at least one industry group that actively oppose the very sustainable finance policies needed for global decarbonization.

Daan Van Acker, FinanceMap’s Program Manager, summarizes the situation aptly: “While they may talk the talk, most asset managers are not walking the walk.”

For access to the report, readers can visit FinanceMap.org.