The man who planted trees - pay it forward to the year 4012: David Milarch at TEDxSanJoseCA

I'm a tree farmer my father was a tree farmer my grandfather was a tree farmer for nearly a hundred years we've grown trees and that's been our toll substance to feed us to close us and also along the way I fell profound the champion tree project a number of years ago and more recently Archangel ancient trees 18 years ago I was woken up one night and I had a vision and I was instructed to follow this vision to go out into the world and locate and find the largest oldest living things on this planet things that are several hundred to several thousand years old living beings there were a thousand years old when Jesus walked the earth older than Stonehenge they're still here still alive wow what an assignment how do you do this I was compelled to follow this vision which has been my passion for nearly 20 years I've criss crossed this country with various teams with Archangel ancient tree and champion tree searching for the largest oldest living things not just in this country but other countries also but why why would you wander around with a team of people looking to clone the largest and oldest living things on earth there's easier ways to earn a living well that answer is is to archive their genetics in this country we've cut down 98% of our old-growth trees 98% are gone the best genetics of the virgin old-growth trees that for thousands of years through natural selection for the strongest the hardiest the best mother trees to keep these pristine ecosystems that filter our air and our water that do so many services that we don't even know about them yet but I'll tell you about a few of these especially with the redwoods because I came to speak to you about old-growth redwood trees in old-growth redwood forests and why because right where I'm standing and right where you're sitting we're sitting smack-dab in the middle of the only coast redwood range on planet earth arranged it's 500 miles long it begins just above the Oregon border and it ends in big serves and there's no other ones like it on earth now comes the bad news before we had a chance to study this ecosystems and its components before we studied these trees at all or their canopies we cut down 95% of the redwood old-growth forests that we're standing and sitting in the middle of right now we kill them before we've studied them before we knew what they did and one of the most eminent tree geneticists who lives here in San Francisco who for 50 years has dedicated his life to study redwoods and sequoias it said we know embarrassing little about how redwood trees functions so it killed bees that are two to three thousand years old some of these bees that we've cloned we're a thousand years old when Jesus walked the earth and right here where we're sitting is the middle of that pristine old-growth forest that clean the water cleaned the air provide habitat shade aerosol beneficial aerosols that are natural disinfectants and antiseptics clean the water that's what a pristine ecosystem looks like that's what this looked like quite similar when we walk out of here today what have we done and what's that cost this is what it used to look like around this neighborhood quite somewhere for 10,000 years now I know that you've heard lots of alarming bad news data environmentally where we're at today we have enormous environmental challenges that threatens our very existence as human beings on this earth make no mistake the science is there there's thousands of scientists hoping to get an opportunity to tell you the truth one of those scourges that we face to hand down to our children just one of them and I'm not talking about the 450 dead zones now in our oceans and the Great Lakes the largest body of fresh water on earth I live right near this called Lake Superior it's an ocean did you know that almost entirely of Lake Superior is a dead zone now nothing grows there how did we do them what happens if we lose it okay but today I'm going to talk about read visit an old-growth redwood forest when our grandfathers and our fathers and even today we mindlessly took down the old-growth forests of redwoods that are thousands of years old what do we do to affect the ecosystems of the oceans the very mammals that we just heard about to those redwood trees affect the mammals yeah is our hard science to prove it yes how about our reefs your reefs yeah it's all connected so as we DeForest this it not only affects the oceans the mammals and the reefs the water quality the dead zones there's hard science right now folks so by taking down that range to profit a few it affects the weather all the way to Montana the droughts in Montana science shows are correlated to the de forces of this coastline their living breathing organism is just like we are just like the Dolphins just like the whales but in that ecosystems there's millions of different living things that are biodiverse from the micro organs in the soil to the birds that live in these ecosystems to the pollinators that we need so much to pollinate our fruit this time I'm going to take the gloves off and this time I'm going to speak not just for us not just for my children but your children and our grandchildren to come it's time we told the truth took stock and said what on earth have we done well sorry to say you're not unique 98% of the old-growth forests here in the United States has been taken down in fact Thomas Jefferson wrote that the force were so thick that a squirrel could go up into the canopy of a tree in Virginia and not leave that canopy until it reached the Mississippi River if any of you have driven that lately how much is gone seventy six percent of the old-growth forests in the world we've cut him down and the sad thing is we didn't study them not just the tree but the ecosystems they created now climate change real fast fact heard it on the news on the way here we've recorded almost 16,000 record high temperatures in the first 100 days just here in the United States 16,000 where I come from in February for decades in February snow is supposed to be two to three feet tall we have an average of 110 inches of snowfall a year we should be skiing snow be nice fishy we had a 10 day period this February was 85 to 90 degrees great for golfing but at what cost we need those cold temperatures to keep the diseases in the insects at bay so they don't devastate of what's left of the force that we have left and the forest we have left we have geographic amnesia we think look normal and healthy right Ron almost every force in the United States today has been cut over two three four or five times so when the loggers would then they took the best of the best and left the junk The Crooked was the diseased ones the small ones let it grow for 70 or 80 years went back and it took them again I left the jungle well after you do that you leave the junk of the junk of the junk three or four times what have you done to that forest in its immune system we need those for us more now today than ever it's been 26,000 years of there abouts since we've had climate like this I understand we need those forests to cool the planet we need those forests to take the toxins the mercury theater axes and all those horrible things out of our water in our soil we need those force too aerosol out the natural disinfectants and antibiotics that keep the 350 plus new diseases that are racing around the world did you know that that our forests our corner that stop the spread of those diseases and now that we've DeForest the planet they race around the planet there are so many things trees do but we saw him as a - before a hottub building material we didn't understand their worth but well archangel ancient tree has spent many years with lots of people and a crackerjack team with a grand idea of trying to clone the largest oldest redwoods and clone the largest oldest giant sequoias that live right here in your state that are no longer here when we pursue that idea or that quest to archive the genetics of the 5% of the greatest biggest oldest trees that are left most experts said it was nearly impossible or impossible it as a matter of fact the oldest giant sequoia that was ever successfully cloned because we want clones not seen was the droves the drop-off line at 80 years old we were shooting for trees that are two to three thousand years old they diner laughs to start of your state but we said those genetics are important those genetics can be utilized we know the known lineage for ten thousand years of natural selection most redwoods don't live to be a thousand years old but some a few and we don't know how live two thousand years old three thousand years old and we don't know how or why don't you think that's important so we began this quest of cloning the redwoods and I'm happy to say Archangel has been a successful cloning 63 of the largest oldest coast redwoods in this 500 mile range I would like to share with you the impossible this is the world's first clone of a 3,000 year old giant sequoia the cheers I'm sure archangel ancient tree is a non-profit and we worked our tails off the whole team I'm just one of a team well why did we do this and why is it important why are these three thousand-year-old genetic support because we have children we have grandchildren don't we and if we don't repair this ecosystem if we don't put this ecosystem back the oceans will suffer the whales will suffer the Dolphins will suffer thousands of species will suffer and it just might be the undoing for our great great grandchildren how can that be somebody better go after climate change and somebody better make a dent the co2 in the atmosphere don't you think well let's do it let's dream big it's still the impossible and make it simple I came here to give you an opportunity I've brought you an opportunity to be a world leader perhaps one that's more important than computers or technology because if we don't do this that won't matter nothing no matter what I'm proposing to you is the opportunity to help me rebuild the world's first old-growth redwood forest and that opportunity starts right here where it was that no longer is for the first time in the history of the world let's take these hard urn clones the exact genetic clones of old-growth forests and let's begin to replant and replace the most iconic beloved globally revered forest on earth there is no forest on earth in any country you can travel to that is revered as much as a redwood forest there is well known as the brand coca-cola if you travel the countries that I have two things they do know they know coca-cola and they know redwoods all right so we made some mistakes we play the blame game he did it she did it they did it and what it now that's not going to help us we're sitting right smack dab in the middle of a 500-mile pristine iconic redwood range but I was so tickled and relieved that they planted a few around the perimeter of the parking lot did any of you notice that when you came in but I say let's plant an old-growth forest for the first time in the world with pure 100% old-growth forest genetics the trees that have stitched withstood the test of time do we know if the genetics are more important or better no but if we don't preserve them what will you ever know but you can bet Wilt Chamberlain's mom and dad weren't 5 2 & 5 3 you can bet that trees are still around after 3,000 years probably have a pretty good shot at facing what we're heading into isn't that simple logic problem is that's never been done before thanks to our angel that's done now and we have lots of these and we can make millions of more of these very very quickly through tissue culture but the first ones are Karkar it's impossible don't you know well we're stubborn we didn't give up and I proposed this to you to everyone in this room let's take 50 of these trees and let's find five acres somewhere in this area and let's plant these 50 trees the world's first old-growth redwoods and we'll water these trees until they get strong then you know what these trees will clean the air the water they'll shade this planet they'll provide habitat ecosystem restoration that'll be a model in the envy of the world this first step and for 2,000 years we're going to pay it forward for 2,000 years seven days a week day and night we'll put these back to work now I don't know how many generations of nights and grandchildren are yours that is but I've come here to offer you that opportunity don't we do this it's time we put it back it's time that Silicon Valley it's not the envy in a model of the world for just communications and technology let's show the world how you restore an ecosystem the best way that we know how could you help us would you do it for your grandchildren you

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 45,279

Rating: 4.8990703 out of 5

Keywords: redwood groves, Global Warming, genetics, TEDx, green, ted talk, ancient trees, nature, TEDxSanJose, TEDxSanJoseCA, Mystical, Education, Technology, Climate Change, tedx talks, biodiversity, ted x, ted talks, giant sequoia, champion trees, ted, TED, USA, tedx, Sustainability, environment, English, trees, Science, forest, ecosystem, redwood, clone, Activism, tedx talk, cloning

Id: XGMJT9H3Aok

Length: 18min 54sec (1134 seconds)

Published: Sat May 19 2012