Grow On All Fronts

Climate change poses the greatest existential risk our species has faced. Temperatures are rising in the Arctic at a greater pace than elsewhere. As the permafrost melts thousands of years worth of organic matter will decay, releasing large quantities of methane, compounding the effects of our own greenhouse gas emissions. This feedback loop could prove disastrous for life as we know it.

Tree planting is a way to mitigate climate change through the creation of carbon sinks. This is not a substitute for reducing global emmisions, but a complementary initiative.

I propose enlisting the military to facilitate an afforestry effort North of the treeline to slow permafrost thaw.

I propose the development of autonomous pollination drone stations along the current treeline to maximize seed yields of the local flora. Seeds will be harvested by personnel in the late summer and autumn, and prepped for planting the following spring. Planting expeditions will create polyculture forest islands North of the treeline over thawing permafrost. These groves will speed up the spread of forests in the North.

These forests can help slow the permafrost thaw by creating shade that lowers the surface temperature, and by absorbing the excess water trapped on the surface by permafrost. Drier soil is a better insulator, further preserving the permafrost. As these forests mature and spread they will become valuable carbon sinks.

Canadian Armed Forces To the Rescue

The Canadian Armed Forces are tasked with our National Defense. While our historical national threats have been human, none have posed the threat to our well being as much as the challenge we now face.

We must confront this threat with as great a resolve as we have in wars past.

The C.A.F. possesses the systemic capabilities to start fighting back immediately. This effort will require the military’s remote deployment, logistics, equipment, training, recruiting and organizational capabilities, augmented by new technologies and guided by research.

I propose a new branch of the military; The Climate Defense Force, or C.D.F.

Autonomous Pollination Drone Stations

Eijiro Miyako, from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has been working on drone pollination since 2017. My drones are based on his idea of using drones with hairs coated in ionic gel that pick up and release pollen from flower to flower. His work is the proof of concept I am relying on. While his drones are remote controlled, I propose the development of AI that identifies flowering of a number of species, pilots drones, and retains mapping data that tags pollinated plants for seed collection during the appropriate season by trained C.D.F. personnel.

These drone stations could be fixed, or, as in the images below, could be housed in a retrofitted Leopard II tank.

Seed “Bullets”

Following the harvest, seeds will be transported to a nearby facility to be processed into seed pods. These seed pods would be made from a waste paper shell, infused with chilli powder to deter pests, and filled with seed, soil and fertilizer to boost early development. The following spring personnel will be deployed in groups to remote locations a few kilometers North of the treeline with a quantity of seed pods and spend a few months planting.

Planting “Gun”

The seed pods will be planted using a simple tool. A basic handle and shaft that can be depressed to drive the seed pod to the appropriate depth. A spring then returns the shaft, loading another round from a tube that leads to a large backpack full of these round pods. This chambered round is held in place in the barrel by small points that score the sides of the pods as they are driven past. These scorings create weak points for the plants to break through as the pod biodegrades. This tool is designed to be durable and easy to repair with minimal parts.