The woods were lovely, dark, and deep...

In days of frenzied war and fragile peace, when self-important men decide the fate of millions of beings, it might seem out of the way to talk of forests — but it isn’t. So many of us, wrapped in smugness and slyness, cruelty and dryness, have forgotten how miniscule we humans are, compared to the nature we so unthinkingly destroy. Forests first appeared on Earth 390 million years ago. The earliest fossils, dating to the Devonian period, show trees with wispy trunks and non-woody tissue, resembling thin palms instead of grand banyans or oaks. There were no birds or animals — only millipede-like insects moved around, while the trees waited another 150 million years for the first dinosaurs to arrive.

Importantly, the birth of forests brought the revolution of life — earlier, carbon dioxide (CO2) levels on Earth were too high for plant life to develop into more than ferns. In the Devonian period, however, CO2 levels began to drop and plants developed stronger roots and arching branches. Megaphyll leaves emerged, fitting in more pores or stomata to absorb CO2 — and produce oxygen. As trees — scaling to forests — breathed out oxygen, conditions for life on Earth strengthened. Eventually, six million years ago, the first humans came along. Forests were humanity’s first home — even after we left their leafy environs, we returned constantly for water, wood, medicine and energy.

After all, from the Carboniferous period, 300 million years ago, a critical mass of trees had perished, lying in layers, forming peat. Under sand and mud, pressure and heat, water and gases were squeezed out from this, leading to the formation of coal. Once humans discovered power here, the world was transformed. Ironically, that transformation threatened the very source of this power — forests. Over the last 10,000 years, the world lost one-third of its forest cover — since 1990, Earth has been denuded of 10% forest coverage, over 400 million hectares, as human need — and greed — have only grown.

Forests have been cut down for essential farming — and for growing, mining and drilling all manner of trivialities, ancient trees ripped up for the thrills of scented candles, paper napkins and phone covers. Imagine the travesty of destroying a forest, millions of years old, holding the secret to life on Earth, for an artificial sweetener. Yet, this mindlessness now veils our understanding of nature — which we must correct. Hence, dear reader, TE’s global experts highlight the majesty and mysteries of forests, suggesting we observe our remaining woods with some awe. Forests, once dark and deep, are the very reason we arose from interstellar sleep — let’s keep them standing.