For every US$1 the world invests in protecting nature, it spends US$30 on destroying it. This stark imbalance is the central finding of a new UN Environment Program (UNEP) report released today. It calls for a major shift in global financing of nature-based solutions and phasing out harmful investments to deliver high returns, reduce risk exposure, and enhance resilience.
For every dollar we spend protecting nature, we spend $30 destroying it: Report
Yeah, I have been alive for decades and the stupidity continues apace.
Brian Cox agrees.
Professor Brian Cox has famously highlighted that wood is one of the rarest materials in the entire universe, often rarer than diamonds, because it requires complex biological life, liquid water, and specific atmospheric conditions to form. While carbon-based diamonds can form in high-pressure environments across the cosmos,木材 (wood) is a product of billions of years of evolution, making it exclusive to Earth-like biospheres.
Key Points on Wood Rarity:
- Cosmic Abundance vs. Rarity: Diamonds and gold are scattered throughout the universe, but complex organic structures like wood are not.
- Biological Requirement: Wood requires life—specifically trees—to exist, relying on photosynthesis and specific environmental conditions.
- Time Limitation: Trees have only existed for about 385 million years, a fraction of the universe’s 13.8 billion-year history.
- Earth’s Exclusivity: As of now, no other planet has been detected to have a biosphere capable of producing wood, making an oak tree potentially one of the rarest objects within thousands of light-years.
While some might think diamonds are more valuable, from a biological and cosmic perspective, wood is a much rarer product of life’s complexity.