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Suck It Up
04/15/09 11:07 AM
Putting the "Big Gulp" to shame . . .
A mature sequoia (redwood tree) is as tall as a 27 story building, weighs in fully grown at about 3 tons, is wider than many city streets, and can live up to 3,000 years. One particular sequoia in Redwood National Park in California, named "Hyperion," is the tallest living thing, topping out at 379.1 feet. Pretty impressive, to be sure. However, one of the most extraordinary things about these trees is their capacity to drink . . . water, that is.
Each day, a fully grown sequoia pumps about a ton of water up from its roots, through its body and into its branches, which are primarily at the top third of the tree. That's 2,000 pounds of water transported vertically about 300 or more feet without losing a drop . . . every day for thousands of years.
This is, quite simply, the most efficient and durable hydraulic pumping system we have discovered in a living entity. All this without mechanical pumps, hoses or valves.
Sequoias live in a narrow band of land (about 470 miles long and less than 50 miles wide) in California. As their drinking habits imply, they need a lot of water, so their range is restricted to an area that receives considerable moisture from the Pacific Ocean. In this region, annual rainfall amounts can approach 100 inches. Moisture flowing in from the ocean, often creating both rain and fog, sustains a very cool and wet environment, one conducive to the growth of these massive creatures.
If I may editorialize for a moment, cutting down one of these trees is a sin against nature and life itself. While we all use and rely on wood, there are many alternatives. Do a little reading about bamboo (fast growing, easy to cultivate, light, durable wood) and industrial hemp (makes better quality paper at less cost with much less environmental impact). We don't need to kill these highly evolved, beautiful and wise entities.
After all, anything that can live 3 millennia, stand over 300 feet tall, and drink a ton of water daily deserves our respect and protection.
Each day, a fully grown sequoia pumps about a ton of water up from its roots, through its body and into its branches, which are primarily at the top third of the tree. That's 2,000 pounds of water transported vertically about 300 or more feet without losing a drop . . . every day for thousands of years.
This is, quite simply, the most efficient and durable hydraulic pumping system we have discovered in a living entity. All this without mechanical pumps, hoses or valves.
Sequoias live in a narrow band of land (about 470 miles long and less than 50 miles wide) in California. As their drinking habits imply, they need a lot of water, so their range is restricted to an area that receives considerable moisture from the Pacific Ocean. In this region, annual rainfall amounts can approach 100 inches. Moisture flowing in from the ocean, often creating both rain and fog, sustains a very cool and wet environment, one conducive to the growth of these massive creatures.
If I may editorialize for a moment, cutting down one of these trees is a sin against nature and life itself. While we all use and rely on wood, there are many alternatives. Do a little reading about bamboo (fast growing, easy to cultivate, light, durable wood) and industrial hemp (makes better quality paper at less cost with much less environmental impact). We don't need to kill these highly evolved, beautiful and wise entities.
After all, anything that can live 3 millennia, stand over 300 feet tall, and drink a ton of water daily deserves our respect and protection.