drones are being used to plant trees faster

Some hope in our fight against climate change.

View this email in your browser WELLNESS CHECK This edition leans... Hey Below the Fold fam, As our world continues to buckle under the effects of climate change while governments bicker over the least economically-damaging options to fight them, we are finding comfort in some creative use of technology. Let's kick off this month of gratitude with appreciation for this inventive aerial technology helping our forests. TODAY'S STORY Drones are being used to plant trees faster Thu Oct 21 Over the next three decades, the world needs to plant a billion hectares of forest to keep global warming in check — that's almost enough to cover the entire U.S.. Between 1990 and 2016, logging, fires, and a rise of predatory beetles destroyed over 130 million hectares of forest. To make matters worse, the end condition of these damaged lands can be unsafe for immediate human intervention Enter drones. Canada-based Flash Forest deploys aerial drones to "carpet-bomb" a landscape with tree seed pods. These drones can plant trees up to 10 times faster than humans, operate in inaccessible areas, and are 80% cheaper than traditional tree planting methods. The 20-person team plans on planting 10,000 trees weekly in 2022, moving towards their goal of one billion new trees by 2028. The idea is taking flight in the U.S. as well, with reforestation startup DroneSeed raising a $36 million funding round. They're currently the only FAA-approved (Federal Aviation Administration) drone company to deploy heavy-lift drones to reforest after wildfires, especially since these drones require military precision. If a seed is fired even a few inches off, it won't hit hospitable soil or may grow too close to other seeds to survive. 🎬 Take Action   Want to help reforestation efforts? Here's a 2021 list of nine charities worth supporting, all working towards restoring the world's lost forest. Post Tweet Share   RESOURCE CENTER Washington Post: (Where we found this story) 11 days old | 8 minutes long sUAS News: More about DroneSeed 1 month old | 6 minutes long   ICYMI (AGAIN) Friday: The birth of the green burial Thursday: Going green may mean giving up artificial scarcity Wednesday: This Tennessee County jails kids at alarming rates ASCII-ING ABOUT THE NEWS . ; . . ;% ;; , , :;% %; : ; :;%;' ., ,. %; %; ; %;' ,; ; ;%; %%; , %; ;%; ,%' %; %;%; , ; %; ;%; ,%;' ;%; %; ;%; % ;%; ,%;' `%;. ;%; %;' `;%%;.%;' `:;%. ;%%. %@; %; ;@%;%' `:%;. :;bd%; %;@%;' `@%:. :;%. ;@@%;' `@%. `;@%. ;@@%; `@%%. `@%% ;@@%; ;@%. :@%% %@@%; %@bd%%%bd%%:; #@%%%%%:;; %@@%%%::; %@@@%(o); . ' %@@@o%;:(.,' `.. %@@@o%::; `)@@@o%::; %@@(o)::; .%@@@@%::; ;%@@@@%::;. ;%@@@@%%:;;;. ...;%@@@@@%%:;;;;,.. Gilo97 Drones planting seeds? What a tree-mendous idea! Art Credit: ascii.co.uk Copyright © 2021 Below the Fold, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Below the Fold 2261 Market St # 4135 San Francisco, CA 94114-1612 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.