FORUM
Ancient trees hold hope for future
APRIL 22, 2011
Laura Devinsky
Staff Writer
Have you ever seen a 400-foot-tall tree?
Because I know I haven't. If you were going
through forests in Northern California, red
woods — monstrous trees that stand at 400
feet, or the equivalent of a 40-story building
— wouldn't be uncommon.
The redwood is not your average tree.
Redwoods have been said to live from 1,000
to 3,000 years, and possibly even 5,000 years.
They've probably seen more history than
your history textbook could even tell you
about.
Tree enthusiasts are trying to revive these
ancient trees, partially for the possibility that
redwoods could help change the effects of
global warming.
But, how, do you make a 40-story tree out
of just about nothing?
Cloning.
If you can clone a cat or dog, why can't
you clone a tree? According to an article in
The New York Times, cloning trees would
use a process called micropropagation —
taking samples of the trees and feeding them
with synthetic growth hormones.
How will this affect the rest of us?
Well, you can be certain you won't see
a redwood on your street comer any time
soon, or in your backyard. Redwood clones
are to be sold and then planted to finance
this cloning project, according to David
Milarch, the co-founder of the Archangel
Ancient Tree Archive.
Redwoods were harvested in the twenti
eth century. What those deforestation people
didn't know is they were destroying history.
"About 5 percent of the native old-growtih
redwoods remain," speculate experts from
The New York Times
Deforestation needs to stop. Trees are
essential for life because they suck up all the
carbon dioxide that we breathe out. If there
are not trees to exchange this for oxygen,
then the human species may cease to exist.
Planting a redwood could help re-forest old
woods, as well as suck up more carbon diox
ide than the average tree because they have
longer lifespans.
Although redwoods are not ideal to plant
in a neighborhood, the idea of cloning trees
should be taken into great consideration to
help the environment. If more redwoods,
or trees in general, were planted across the
country — if not the world — each tree
would help increase the exchange of carbon
dioxide to oxygen and help reverse the
global warming that continues to affect the
world.
The changes won't be instant, as much
as we may wish, but the more redwoods
that are cloned and planted, the more we
are reversing the deforestation and effects
of not recycling and being environmentally
friendly over the years.
Decreasing debt, bipartisanship
Chris Roe
Staff Writer
Debt, debt, debt. Spending,
spending, spending. Well, so
what? Big deal, right?
This is the first time in
American history that our
generation will do financially
worse than our parents.
And, all of this is thanks to
the pathetic conservative
mentality.
The giant battle over
ideology and the clash of
economic and law making
philosophy are fueling the
political war today. To avert
a government shutdown on
April 8, a deal was signed
by the President and the
Republicans to cut domestic
spending by $38 billion.
Bipartisanship at its best.
I'm sure, and the fight for
spending will only continue
to devastate Capitol Hill and
our country.
While a deal was forged
between the Republicans and
the White House to drastically
cut spending, this is a blip of
a victory to be shortly savored
by both sides.
The Republicans bring
nothing more to the table than
an ideology, talking the talk.
President Obama brings forth
hope and optimism that will
fix our long-broken society.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the
chair of the House Budget
Committee, finally revealed
a plan to reduce the deficit
while cutting vast amounts
of domestic spending. Ryan's
plan proposes to cut $4 trillion
over 10 years, whereas a plan
brought forth by Obama cuts
$4 trillion over 12. The two
plans, however, are starkly
different about bringing these
changes, and Ryan's plan just
won't cut it, so to speak.
The Republicans are playing
a card trick, and it worked in
the Congressional elections
last year. Their smokescreen
was so successful that Obama
now has to cater to the
misinformed American people
by cutting funding and taking
a more centrist approach. He
is damned if he does, damned
if he doesn't. Politics at its
finest.
The Republicans have
much of the American people
soiling their pants from fear
of the darned communist
government that wants to kill
us all. That government is a
lie, video game fans.
While Ryan talks about
government spending ad
nauseam, Obama's plan gets
things done with investments
into our future, taxing the
rich, and closing the gap that
plagues our society.
If consumers and the
government stop spending,
the economy will collapse.
While the conservatives whine
about the national debt, they
have no idea what spending
actually does.
Perhaps one of the
most important parts of
government spending is
providing for equity. When
there is no equilibrium, and
the lower- and middle-classes
shrink, the rich become market
powers and this results in a
market failure. We saw this in
2007, but it seems the public
forgets how much the Bush
administration really put our
economy in a salad shooter.
As the Republicans fail to
understand that government
spending helps the poor, their
policies are entirely selfish.
Ryan, in his rebuttal speech
after Obama's State of the
Union Address, mentioned the
words "debt" and "spending"
countless times, yet didn't
mention a plan whatsoever.
We have a major equity
problem in this country, where
the record gap between the
rich and the poor looms over
us. The Republican ideology
drives their motives to not tax
the wealthy. Ryan's proposal,
sad as it is, does not consider
taxing the wealthy. This will
cost us trillions of dollars over
the next 10 years and beyond.
This will not only fail to help
pay off the debt efficiently,
but it will continue to ruin the
country.
The Republicans think that
the rich serve as a spending
power. However, referencing
the past, they don't spend
their money, but rather invest
it into various commodities,
stocks, and so on. Another
Great Depression, anyone?
So what's in store for our
future?
If the Republicans win,
you will be sitting around in
your old age, struggling to
pay your bills. With Social
Security lacking funds, and
the Republicans privatizing
Medicare, good luck having
any money.
^ BURSTING THE
MM
'O fi
Summer fun
for everyone
Are you still living in the bubble?
After hearing countless tales of the
Greensboro that lies beyond the intersec
tion of West Friendly Avenue and New
Garden Road, it doesn't seem possible
that you could be. It doesn't seem pos
sible that anyone would want to root
themselves too firmly to the Guilford
grounds when there is a whole big, live
ly, exciting city beckoning to you.
This summer, Greensboro will be
home to many of you. And as the days
get longer, there is only so much time
you can spend laying down by the lake
or loitering at the Westborough pool. So
rather than lamenting the dog days of
summer, try being proactive.
Start off your summer fun on May
7 with the twenty-sixth annual Yes!
Weekly Carolina Blues Festival. This
event, which will be held downtown in
Festival Park, will feature two stages for
double the blues for your buck.
A couple of months later is the Fun
Fourth Festival. From July 2 through
July 4, downtown will be alive with good
old American music, amusements, and
crafts, all of which will culminate with a
traditional holiday fireworks show.
And in the time between those two fes
tivals, why not buy a box of Cracker Jacks
and take yourself out to a Greensboro
Grasshoppers baseball game? Tickets are
$7, home games are a dime a dozen now
through August, and the mascot's name
is Guilford. What more reason do you
need?
For the big spenders that love big
name entertainment, look no further
than the Greensboro Coliseum. Taylor
Swift, Jeff Dunham, Matthew Morrison
of "Glee," and Rihanna with Gee Lo
Green will all be performing a mere five
miles from campus.
Moral of the story: Greensboro is a
more than happening town. I sincerely
hope that this isn't news to you.
All year, you've been tantalized
with the fun, controversial and exciting
goings-on of the 'Boro, which we all now
call home. And those goings on don't
cease to exist the day we move out of
the dorms. The only difference between
summer and the rest of the year is that
you have even more time and sunny
days with which to explore and enjoy
what's around you.
So find a park to eat lunch in, a coffee
shop to do homework in, or a cause to
devote your time to. Just please, I beg
you wholeheartedly, get off campus!