Miles per tree. Seriously.
Miles per tree. Seriously.
Author
Discussion

SturdyJ

Original Poster:

10,310 posts

185 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
Basic assumption is that apparently an 'average' tree absorbs 1 tonne of CO2 over a 100 year lifetime.

I'm happy to tweak this if any experts want to correct me.

Based on that and a g/km figure for one's car, you can now enjoy your miles per tree figure.

How you ask? Well I've made it simple.

Just take 6230.5296, and divide it by your g/km figure.

I get 16.2 miles before I have to stop and plant a tree. Which I do of course.

jagnet

4,299 posts

220 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
SturdyJ said:
I get 16.2 miles before I have to stop and plant a tree. Which I do of course.
So you produce 1 tonne of CO2 every 16 miles? Sounds a lot. Or am I completely misunderstanding the maths behind this?

mikeyb123

14 posts

201 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
hmm

mine does 109g per KM

that gives me 175g per mile (109x1.60934)

given there are 1000000g in a tonne I get:

1000000 \ 175 = 5714miles per tree

Benbay001

5,829 posts

175 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
SturdyJ said:
Basic assumption is that apparently an 'average' tree absorbs 1 tonne of CO2 over a 100 year lifetime.

I'm happy to tweak this if any experts want to correct me.

Based on that and a g/km figure for one's car, you can now enjoy your miles per tree figure.

How you ask? Well I've made it simple.

Just take 6230.5296, and divide it by your g/km figure.

I get 16.2 miles before I have to stop and plant a tree. Which I do of course.
Trees seem very efficient, can we drive them?
What other natural phenomena absorb CO2?

Whitean3

2,194 posts

216 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
I think your maths is WAY off... unless your daily drive is a top fuel dragster.
Let's say you have a car "polluting" at 200g/km. This means that 1Kg would be emitted over 5 km. Therefore to emit 1 ton of CO2, you would have to drive 5000 km (let's call that about 3000 miles give or take) emiting at a constant 200 g/km. The assumption here is that the tree will live for 100 years. Let's reduce that to 20 years, and you're still looking at 1000 km per tree, assuming it only absorbs 1/5 the mass of CO2.

ikarl

3,822 posts

217 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
algae and plankton(?)

Rovinghawk

13,300 posts

176 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
When the tree dies it rots, releasing the CO2 back into the system.

Over the tree's entire lifetime its effect on CO2 is zero, despite the message greenpeace try to suggest.

RH

Motorrad

6,811 posts

205 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
How many cows do I have to kill to offest my V8?

I'm not much of one for tree planting or hugging but I do enjoy a good steak.

Whitean3

2,194 posts

216 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
Motorrad said:
How many cows do I have to kill to offest my V8?

I'm not much of one for tree planting or hugging but I do enjoy a good steak.
Hmm, think you could be onto something there- kill the cow, stop the methane/greenhouse gas production, whilst enjoying steak.

Surely it would enhance your green credentials to eat more veal?

anonymous-user

72 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
do you need maths to be a software engineer?

Cyder

7,169 posts

238 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
SturdyJ said:
Basic assumption is that apparently an 'average' tree absorbs 1 tonne of CO2 over a 100 year lifetime.

I'm happy to tweak this if any experts want to correct me.

Based on that and a g/km figure for one's car, you can now enjoy your miles per tree figure.

How you ask? Well I've made it simple.

Just take 6230.5296, and divide it by your g/km figure.

I get 16.2 miles before I have to stop and plant a tree. Which I do of course.
Ummmm are you sure about that?

Mr Gear

9,416 posts

208 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
mikeyb123 said:
hmm

mine does 109g per KM

that gives me 175g per mile (109x1.60934)

given there are 1000000g in a tonne I get:

1000000 \ 175 = 5714miles per tree
There is a failure in the logic of this of course.... It assumes that the wood will fossilize and not rot, turning back to CO2 again wink

Read about the evolution of lignin digesting bacteria at the end of the carboniferous period if you want to learn something new today. More interesting than it sounds, I promise!

MarkRSi

5,782 posts

236 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
Rovinghawk said:
When the tree dies it rots, releasing the CO2 back into the system.

Over the tree's entire lifetime its effect on CO2 is zero, despite the message greenpeace try to suggest.
And for anything that doesn't, it gets compressed for a few hundred thousand years, we then suck it out the ground and burn it.

So everytime I put my foot down, I'm just completing nature's cycle smile

anonymous-user

72 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
SturdyJ said:
Basic assumption is that apparently an 'average' tree absorbs 1 tonne of CO2 over a 100 year lifetime.
A tree locks away 0.9 t of CO2 per cubic metre of timber, so it all depends on how big the tree gets!

http://www.woodforgood.com/

And yes, I am connected with the timber industry smile

chr15b

3,467 posts

208 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
Whitean3 said:
I think your maths is WAY off... unless your daily drive is a top fuel dragster.
Let's say you have a car "polluting" at 200g/km. This means that 1Kg would be emitted over 5 km. Therefore to emit 1 ton of CO2, you would have to drive 5000 km (let's call that about 3000 miles give or take) emiting at a constant 200 g/km. The assumption here is that the tree will live for 100 years. Let's reduce that to 20 years, and you're still looking at 1000 km per tree, assuming it only absorbs 1/5 the mass of CO2.
The problem as i see it is the average tree may be able to absorb an amount of CO2 over x years but how much of the CO2 you're creating is it absorbing and over what time period.

Bisonhead

1,595 posts

207 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
Dont trees absorb oxygen during daylight and emit CO2 at night?

Gruber

6,313 posts

232 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
A few years back, the Daily Telegraph ran a competition to win James May's old Bentley. It was one of those finish the sentence type competitions: "I should win James May's Bentley because...".

The winning entry, if memory serves, was:

"I should win James May's Bentley because I already own a forest and I want to be carbon neutral".


V88Dicky

7,352 posts

201 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
Benbay001 said:
What other natural phenomena absorb CO2?
The oceans gas/de-gas according to temperature. THE biggest emitter of plant food gas, along with volcanoes. 96% of all that horrible CO2 (which makes up 0.039% of our atmosphere) is nature's fault!!


SWoll

21,206 posts

276 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
Skodasupercar said:
A tree locks away 0.9 t of CO2 per cubic metre of timber, so it all depends on how big the tree gets!

http://www.woodforgood.com/

And yes, I am connected with the timber industry smile
Perhaps?



wink

TheEnd

15,370 posts

206 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
quotequote all
Bisonhead said:
Dont trees absorb oxygen during daylight and emit CO2 at night?
No no no!

You are forgetting your basic biology!

During the day, trees absorb light and turn the light into carbon dioxide, which is why deserts are so hot as nothing absorbs the sun.
At night time, trees take in Oxygen, and turn it into wood, making them grow in the dark so they get bigger without anyone seeing them moving.