At least, after we’ve cut down every last tree and forest, once we’ve rid the world of natural species, we’ll know how to build their replacements. Here are some diagrams for artificial trees, signed by their inventors, down to specific tufting techniques and mechanisms for branch attachments. Our future forests will be colorfast and fade-resistant—perhaps machine-washable—filled with recordings of historical birdsong, the world a puzzle we took apart believing someone else would know how to put it back together.
(All via Google Patents.)
You’ll be interested to know that aluminum Christmas trees have roots (no pun intended) in WWII production. The tinsel-like branches are a relation of the chaff produced for combat planes, from the same aluminum manufacturers (centered in Manitowoc, Wisc.).
That is interesting—thanks!
Beautiful post. I wonder if we can go a step further. When all nature is gone, we could then proceed to populate those very symmetrical and very stable forests with bright-coloured chickenwire&plaster wildlife straight out of a Sandy Skuglund tableau.
*Skoglund
Federico, that reminds me of a Philip K. Dick anecdote that my late friend Theresa Duncan once wrote about:
An inversion of your chickenwire forest, perhaps.
My artificial, reusable, Christmas tree looks much like one in the first patent you show.