When British physicist Freeman Dyson wrote in 1972 of his dream of the greening of the galaxy — in which humans would populate the stars by means of massive genetically engineered trees planted on comets — few took him seriously. Likewise when he advocated triggering nuclear explosions underneath space probes as a means of propulsion, most gave the idea a bemused miss. Dyson is, however, a tenacious character. When in 1977 he advocated using trees to soak up excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, people took notice.1 Third time lucky.
The timing was certainly perfect. Scientific understanding about climate change was just beginning to provoke industry concerns that governments might soon start to crack down on corporate polluters. Seeking ways to head off this dreadful prospect – which one industry group once referred to as the road to serfdom — some companies started to explore ways to offset their emissions by using tree plantations rather than cut pollution at source.
When British physicist Freeman Dyson wrote in 1972 of his dream of the greening of the galaxy — in which humans would populate the stars by means of massive genetically engineered trees planted on comets — few took him seriously. Likewise when he advocated triggering nuclear explosions underneath space probes as a means of propulsion, most gave the idea a bemused miss. Dyson is, however, a tenacious character. When in 1977 he advocated using trees to soak up excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, people took notice.1 Third time lucky.
When British physicist Freeman Dyson wrote in 1972 of his dream of the greening of the galaxy — in which humans would populate the stars by means of massive genetically engineered trees planted on comets — few took him seriously. Likewise when he advocated triggering nuclear explosions underneath space probes as a means of propulsion, most gave the idea a bemused miss. Dyson is, however, a tenacious character. When in 1977 he advocated using trees to soak up excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, people took notice.1 Third time lucky.
The timing was certainly perfect. Scientific understanding about climate change was just beginning to provoke industry concerns that governments might soon start to crack down on corporate polluters. Seeking ways to head off this dreadful prospect – which one industry group once referred to as the road to serfdom — some companies started to explore ways to offset their emissions by using tree plantations rather than cut pollution at source.
When British physicist Freeman Dyson wrote in 1972 of his dream of the greening of the galaxy — in which humans would populate the stars by means of massive genetically engineered trees planted on comets — few took him seriously. Likewise when he advocated triggering nuclear explosions underneath space probes as a means of propulsion, most gave the idea a bemused miss. Dyson is, however, a tenacious character. When in 1977 he advocated using trees to soak up excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, people took notice.1 Third time lucky.