--- title: "The Environment Is Saved! We’re Putting Trees on the Blockchain" description: "Good news, everyone! Climate change is now CANCELED thanks to an ingenious plot to put trees on the blockchain, because that's how the environment works." date: "2022-06-04" modified: "2022-06-04" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/environment-trees-blockchain" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Environment" - "Future Society" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "carbon" - "carbon credits" - "crypto" - "the blockchain" - "trees" --- # The Environment Is Saved! We’re Putting Trees on the Blockchain ![Good news, everyone! Climate change is now CANCELED thanks to an ingenious plot to put trees on the blockchain, because that's how the environment works.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* Good news, everyone! Climate change is now CANCELED — thanks to an ingenious plot to put trees on the blockchain. We're obviously joking, but one suggestion — this part we're not kidding about — that we literally *"tokenize the trees**"* seems to be dead serious. This jokerfying scheme first came to Futurism's attention via Twitter user Samir Lavingia, who [posted about attending a Manhattan community board meeting]() where, during discussions about park licensing in the Midtown West locale, someone asked the board if they'd considered "tokenizing the trees." Basically, the idea seems to be to put individual trees on the blockchain, which would somehow be good for the environment. In [video of the board meeting](), board members seemed politely confused by the suggestion. "Can you explain what 'tokenizing the trees' means?" one board member asked. The crypto advocate explained that it's "basically using the blockchain" to record "the tree's data" and using it to "monetize the trees," with each tree being able to raise "a couple hundred dollars per year." The same board member who asked about the definition laughingly admitted that they'd "never heard of" tokenizing trees, and that if the board were to do something with the concept, it would be their "first foray into the blockchain." It appears this person is not the first to suggest the concept of tokenized trees, though it appears to be a pretty niche concept mostly [discussed by venture capitalists](), [tech bloggers](), and, uh, [the Chinese](). If the whole thing strikes you as absurd to the point of unintentional hilarity — or the work of a very tongue-in-cheek troll — you're far from alone. In response to Lavingia's initial tweet about the tree tokenization proposition, dozens of people responded with incredulity, saying that [NFT people need to "touch grass"]() and that the project is "[deeply evil]()." "Has this Bitcoin thing jumped the shark or what," [asked one](). It's still wildly unclear [whether carbon-offsetting even works](). But for some crypto true believers, it sounds like it's time to put even nature on the blockchain. **And for an actually cool NFT project:** *[Art Plundered From Africa Stolen Back, Sold as NFTs]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()