How important are forests? How important is the wood we harvest from forests? The answer to both questions is - crucially important! We can imagine the role forests play in ecological function of the globe, but have you ever really considered where we would be without wood? The truth is we are dependent on both, and that is not going to change. In the re-release of his 1989 book “A Forest Journey” John Perlin explores the “Role of trees in the fate of civilization.”
Resources
Forest Journey: The Story Of Wood And Civilization
Let It Shine: The 6,000-Year Story of Solar Energy
Bats, Coronaviruses, and Deforestation: Toward the Emergence of Novel Infectious Diseases?
Sponsors
Quotes
16.08 - 16.17: “Wood being the primary fuel enabled our species to survive.”
17.17 - 17.23: “It was said that it would be better to… be without gold than to be without wood.”
30.10 - 30.22: “Wood is the unknown hero in the evolution from the stone-and-bone culture to today.”
55.20 - 55.24: “The smell of forest pine can limit climate change.”
59.03 - 59.15: “Thinking of trees as a crop is like a credit card and allowing a tree to continue its growth is like an investment."
Takeaways
If the seed is so small, why is a tree so tall? (05.41)
John recalls that his interest in growing plants led him to win an award for asking a question in the local newspaper at age 11. He conducted experiments he read about in the many books he had at home, planted sweet peas in his backyard, and loved exploring the mountains. His first book delineates the history of solar energy and its importance in the absence of wood to generate heat, which inspired him to study the importance of wood further.
Wood for heat (11.20)
John researched what different trees were called in ancient languages to understand how early cultures discussed forest issues. He found that in Greek and Latin, “wood was of such importance that they considered wood to be the matter that everything came from”. His second book discusses how “we have misunderstood the underpinning of all cultures” based on the material that was deemed important in that age.
Trees are the creators of the living planet (18.20)
John describes the first true tree, Archaeopteris, and how it spread worldwide. The Devonian period was characterized mostly by water and the appearance of Archaeopteris ensured the Darwinian evolution of terrestrial life. His book talks about a time 130 million years later, when an excess of carbon dioxide due to deforestation had nearly caused all large life to become extinct.
Sustaining civilizations (24.55)
John traces the movement of humans across the globe and their use of wood for fire, tools and cooking, which allowed them to congregate for the development of language and storytelling. Fire also helped in hunting and made nighttime safe, while also aiding in developing settlements and metallurgy-based technologies. 60% of the habitable earth was forested 10,000 years ago and since civilization began 5000 years ago, we’ve lost a third of that.
Trees influence history (32.07)
John talks about Greek mythology based on fire, and how the presence of wood defined the Greek empire. He also narrates how masting timber was the first cause of conflict in the American colonies. Differences also developed over the use of wood, with Native Americans using it for sustenance and the settlers wanting it for money and mills. The defeat of the British also occurred because of the lack of masting timber.
“We are all forest people” (40.35)
John points out that movements in history have always been towards wooded areas, and civilizations that lost their forests depended on those who had timber, whether in ancient Greece or Mesopotamia. Today, those areas look very different due to the loss of forest cover but once there was a rich cover of flora and therefore fauna there. North Africa supplied timber to most of Europe.
We are living in a material world (49.08)
John highlights that planks under roads are wooden, and ceramic needs fire to be created. Wood has been used to produce fire for countless applications in metallurgy, and there used to be entire economies based on wood. John’s book reinforces the importance of trees for our survival because they create rain. However, trees can only be a renewable resource if they are allowed to grow back. Treating trees like crops makes forests lose their carbon sequestration ability.
Pay people to do nothing (1.00.03)
John explains how biodiversity is a natural barrier to diseases and removing forests removes predators of disease-causing organisms, which can lead to an epidemic or pandemic. On the flip side, what may be perceived as directly harming trees may in fact be harming another species that fertilizes the soil. One of the ways to support the preservation of natural systems is to compensate communities for sustaining catchment areas, for example.
“There’s nothing new under the sun” (1.11.07)
John is constantly inspired to gather knowledge, collect ideas and accumulate information and share it through his books and lectures. He talks about opposing schools of thought in forestry and the anthropomorphization of and ageism against trees, causing misinformation to live in the world. “We don’t look at trees as a crop, we look at it as an environmental mechanism that is life itself”, he states.
The web of life (1.18.51)
John was fascinated to learn that roots do most of the carbon sequestration by creating carbonates which go all the way down to the oceans, where they become locked in the limestone and help animals like mollusks and gastropods build their shells. He understands that all natural systems work together to make the earth one living system, and his book hopes to explain that tweaking one part of it leads to other parts being tweaked as well.
“A forester tries to bring us back to see what we have done so we don’t have to do it again” (1.21.52)
John has always approached forestry with an open mind and finds that new forestry is the antidote to historically harmful practices. He has faced flak for expressing his opinion on how all humans bear the responsibility for resource depletion and turning “the world into a wasteland”. His book explains how landscapes have been completely transformed over time due to deforestation. In his personal life, he cherishes time in nature.
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