I don\u2019t know where the term originated but back in the seventies people with deep concerns about the environment were often rather unkindly referred to as \u2018tree huggers\u2019. The Oxford Dictionary defines the term as \u2018an environmental campaigner\u2019 whilst Wikipedia calls it \u2018a slang, sometimes derogatory term for environmentalists.\u2019 The Merriam-Webster dictionary explains that it is \u2018someone who is regarded as foolish or annoying because of being too concerned about protecting trees.\u2019 After all these years of environmental research the term is thankfully no longer used with anything like as much childish sniggering as it once was. Endless scientific reports have suggested that the \u2018damn tree huggers\u2019 may well have a point and the damage we are doing to the planet needs to be dealt with. At an environmentally themed hustings event at the Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester recently, five candidates gave their views on subjects ranging from badger culling to fracking. With the exception of audience laughter at the concept of banning foreign plants, the audience were attentive. They were there to learn which party might be likely to deal with their own particular concerns and the welfare of the planet. Oddly enough the only candidate that mentioned trees in his summing up was the one who complained that we were being \u2018invaded by foreign species.\u2019 Speaking afterwards, one audience member explained that we need a multi-pronged approach that includes science, as well as universal change in the way we live our lives. News published recently might help. Scientists at The University of Manchester have discovered a way to make trees grow bigger and faster, which could increase supplies of renewable resources and help trees cope with the effects of climate change. One of the scientists, Professor Simon Turner, explained that the findings offered a \u2018potential way forward for what is one of the most pressing challenges of the day.\u2019 Now there may well be something creepy about forcing a tree to grow faster than it naturally would, but if we are to be serious about \u2018saving the planet\u2019 then every option should be looked at, even if it goes a little against the grain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I don\u2019t know where the term originated but back in the seventies people with deep concerns about the environment were often rather unkindly referred to as \u2018tree huggers\u2019. The Oxford Dictionary defines the term as \u2018an environmental campaigner\u2019 whilst Wikipedia calls it \u2018a slang, sometimes derogatory term for environmentalists.\u2019 The Merriam-Webster dictionary explains that it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-2195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-editorials","tag-fergus-byrne"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2195\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.marshwoodlife.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}