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Genghis Khan, History's Greenest Conqueror

New research suggests that in addition to being one of history's cruelest conquerors, Genghis Khan may have been the greenest. It is estimated that the Mongol leader's invasions unintentionally scrubbed almost 700 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere. From the article: "Over the course of the century and a half run of the Mongol Empire, about 22 percent of the world's total land area had been conquered and an estimated 40 million people were slaughtered by the horse-driven, bow-wielding hordes. Depopulation over such a large swathe of land meant that countless numbers of cultivated fields eventually returned to forests. In other words, one effect of Genghis Khan's unrelenting invasion was widespread reforestation, and the re-growth of those forests meant that more carbon could be absorbed from the atmosphere." I guess everyone has their good points.

2 of 279 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Environmentalism = genocide? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Perhaps these stones were placed by environmentalists?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Guidestones

  2. Re:This "humor" brought to you... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

    Careful SK, you come to close to the true nature of the Green/Red movement. This isn't about keeping the planet clean. It's about spreading a failed political system and giving power back to a few from the many. They'd happily kill millions if it meant that everyone did as they say. Of course their true masters, will then find them expendable too. Did anyone read the Terminator books and how the environmentalists were used to wipe out man? Scary to see the movement growing, is it not?

    There is unrest in the forest,
    There is trouble with the trees,
    For the maples want more sunlight
    And the oaks ignore their please.

    The trouble with the maples,
    (And they're quite convinced they're right)
    They say the oaks are just too lofty
    And they grab up all the light.
    But the oaks can't help their feelings
    If they like the way they're made.
    And they wonder why the maples
    Can't be happy in their shade.

    There is trouble in the forest,
    And the creatures all have fled,
    As the maples scream "Oppression!"
    And the oaks just shake their heads

    So the maples formed a union
    And demanded equal rights.
    "The oaks are just too greedy;
    We will make them give us light."
    Now there's no more oak oppression,
    For they passed a noble law,
    And the trees are all kept equal
    By hatchet, axe, and saw.