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Is deforestation closer to home than you realise ?
When we think of deforestation, we traditionally think of somewhere thousands of miles away, but it is also happening a lot closer to home.
High Speed 2 (HS2) is the trainline that is planned to run from Glasgow and Edinburgh down through the major cities in the West, connecting with the East of England and terminating in Birmingham. HS2 was sold as the answer to social mobility and employment scarcity, although when we examine the process of constructing the rail line dissecting the UK we can see that environmental considerations were not at the forefront of the reasons behind the infrastructure project.
Information obtained from the Guardian states that the HS2 development project has felled approximately 1,870 trees to clear the way for the construction process. This deforestation has destroyed nature reserves, causing the loss of well-established trees, the loss of habitat for wildlife and a reduction in the ability to provide clean and relaxing spaces for people to enjoy. The felling of an established tree causes the release of approximately one ton of CO2 - HS2 has so far released 1,870 tons of CO2 into our atmosphere which had been locked away in the trees.
High Speed 2 (HS2) is the trainline that is planned to run from Glasgow and Edinburgh down through the major cities in the West, connecting with the East of England and terminating in Birmingham. HS2 was sold as the answer to social mobility and employment scarcity, although when we examine the process of constructing the rail line dissecting the UK we can see that environmental considerations were not at the forefront of the reasons behind the infrastructure project.
Information obtained from the Guardian states that the HS2 development project has felled approximately 1,870 trees to clear the way for the construction process. This deforestation has destroyed nature reserves, causing the loss of well-established trees, the loss of habitat for wildlife and a reduction in the ability to provide clean and relaxing spaces for people to enjoy. The felling of an established tree causes the release of approximately one ton of CO2 - HS2 has so far released 1,870 tons of CO2 into our atmosphere which had been locked away in the trees.
HS2 was envisaged as being a cost-effective way of enabling carbon free, fast and easy way of travel.
But in fact the negative impacts of this infrastructure project will affect the UK for centuries to come.
But in fact the negative impacts of this infrastructure project will affect the UK for centuries to come.
