I swear theres just 1 guy whose job it is to look through google maps, find something odd and do a bunch of research on a completely random topic, cause if i had a nickel for every time this has happened id have 3 by now

@jayayeonetoo3335

23 күн бұрын

for real, and because of the difference in the finds despite starting from the same "i saw this on google earth" procedure i'm engrossed and watch them all

@Grayson_Wu

23 күн бұрын

That one guy is Christophe Haubursin, Vox's Senior Producer. Kudos to him.

@tiffanysandmeier4753

23 күн бұрын

I pretty sure it is a whole community of digital explorers. For most, it is a hobby or side hustle.

@timdowney6721

23 күн бұрын

Curious, imaginative people are what moves knowledge, and thus life, forward.

@blackkissi

23 күн бұрын

there is also a small subreddit for this --> /r/Google_Maps_Oddities

As an ecologist, it's hurting my ears so much to hear those plantations being referred to as "forests"

@scottscotty2178

3 күн бұрын

You will get over it

@animalswin2105

23 сағат бұрын

​@@scottscotty2178 Silly you

@VVilde36

8 сағат бұрын

THANK YOU

Notice: there aren't any birdsongs or animal noises, even at a distance. No underbrush. It's practically dead.

@matheuspage1

18 күн бұрын

In Brazil, a place that suffers with this same problem, we call these as greens deserts. I remember studying at school about how the eucalyptus simply kills everthing around then as a evolution to protect itself, you can see that even grass doesnt grow around it

@nunya2171

17 күн бұрын

In Australia where, these trees are actually from, it would be teeming with native wildlife, which is why we aren't allowed to grow and harvest these species because it would be habitat destruction. We also know in Australia the substantial damage that introduced species, both flora and fauna can do when not in their natural environment and the idea of growing these things in such an alien environment sounds like a horrible idea. Here our monoculture plantations are all pine trees, and have the same issue, no wildlife in sight, so nobody can complain about habitat destruction when they are harvested.

@zacharysherry2910

17 күн бұрын

Rose bushes do the same thing

@diemturner5755

16 күн бұрын

Who cares?

@stevesteve8098

16 күн бұрын

It is asset stripping the soil..., it will be totally dead in a few decades, that's why they don't want any other plant competition... it destroys their profit margins...What is worse , this is all carbon positive..... It generates MORE carbon than it uses., trees are generally not carbon negative until year 20.

I'm an Australian. It's well known that Eucalyptus inhibit other plant growth not only by their dropping of bark and leaves that cover the ground, but by chemicals. The plant litter is also highly flammable, and some species only reproduce after fire. This inhibiting other plants and promoting fire causes them to be the dominant species of much of Australia. Indeed, the Wollemi pine was only discovered in 1994, mainly because most of it's habitat had been claimed by Eucalyptus, and it had been reduced to less than 100 trees.

@straighttalking2090

17 күн бұрын

very interesting about the Wollemi pine. Looked it up in Wiki after reading your post. thanks. I wonder if the use of fire by ancient Aboriginals aided the expansion of eucalyptus over the Wollemi pine. Just as well it was found when it was. The massive fires of recent years might have wiped it out.

@LostCylon

17 күн бұрын

@@straighttalking2090 Eucalypts have been in Australia for at least 30 million years (Probably FAR longer), but Australia has been becoming more arid over that period, with a major drying event happening at least 60,000 to 10,000 years ago. Eucalypts also cover over 3/4 of forest areas, they have 100's of varieties, from small bushes to huge trees. Aboriginies have been in Australia for probably over 100,000 years (Some say double that, some say less).

@chriswatson7965

16 күн бұрын

@@straighttalking2090 Use of fire by the aborigines did change the floral landscape, but it probably reduced the total amount of eucalypt forests, in favour of grasslands and similar much more fire resistant biotas. Also, however, there would also have likely have been an even greater impact on the conifers, which are now pretty much relegated only to high rainfall areas, though we don't have any direct evidence for this.

@straighttalking2090

16 күн бұрын

@@LostCylon Thanks LostCylon. Appreciated.

@straighttalking2090

16 күн бұрын

@@chriswatson7965 Thanks Chris. Australia has so much to wonder about - I appreciate the info, Cheers.

"Planting more trees" is generally a good thing, but only if you're planting the right trees in the right places.

@thebrutaltooth1506

18 күн бұрын

And their trip inside the monoculture is a great visual example to show this to people who don`t know this information.

@fluxrider7027

16 күн бұрын

It is striking how sterile these eucalyptus "forests" appear to be.

@rizvinbk

16 күн бұрын

by the right person

@rizvinbk

16 күн бұрын

at the right time

@vojtam5063

12 күн бұрын

When you compare it to deforestation and then monoculture planting in other parts of world, this is neutral at worst.

We actually were instructed to read this problem for a Humanities class. This type of forest plantation does not only happen because its cheap and convenient, but also because it just so happens that Finland, the country where UPM is based, stablished this activity as ilegal due to the ecological damage it causes. Therefore, they decide to do their work in countries where ecological damages are easier to sweep under the rug, like Uruguay. PS: The book is from Eduardo Galeano, called "Uselo y Tírelo, Nuestro Planeta, Nuestra única casa" (yes i am latin american)

@squidcaps4308

19 күн бұрын

What is illegal? 80% of Finnish forests are tree farms, the local nature of course is different so they don't look the same. There are strict rules about replanting, and letting certain portion to stay wild. Trees also grow MUCH slower here which creates more undergrowth. But Finland does largely the same thing, almost any forest you see has been planted. You need to specifically go to national parks to see 300 year old forests.

@rickrose5377

18 күн бұрын

Thank you for this.

@rickrose5377

18 күн бұрын

​@@squidcaps4308 Well, we have contradictory facts, here. The OP says this kind of land use and forest monoculture is legally prohibited in Finland, and you say just the opposite -- that it's the foundation for Finland's entire native forestry industry. Which is correct?

@ili626

18 күн бұрын

Thank you

@squidcaps4308

18 күн бұрын

@@rickrose5377 The nature is so different. What is illegal are massive open cuts without replanting. If eucalyptus did grow in Finland you can bet it would be illegal but the forests are very different. You could not keep the undergrowth away even if you tried. So, UPM is doing it in South America because they can, that is 100% the same. But it is not just because of laws, it is just that the nature is SO different above 60th latitude. Trees grow 3-5 slower here. If they could, they would do it here too.

I don't think people realise just how good the storytelling structure of this video is. It's basically built like a novel following the hero's journey pattern and a 3-act structure. Wether that was done intentionally or not, I can't say, but to whoever worked on building such a good narrative hook, I want you to know that your work didn't go unnoticed, it was worth it.

@waffle_chair9269

17 күн бұрын

Absolutely agree. It’s so good, that many haven’t noticed, but have gone straight into chat/comment mode. Because all good art does that, provokes emotionally. If more of this was on tv, youtube wouldn’t be doing so well, and the general public would be a lot better educated 😂

@HiThisIsMine

14 күн бұрын

It more likely started at the end since at the beginning of the story the answers were so easily searchable. That said, it’s still written as a great investigative story that has one path that leads to another.

uruguayan here.. there is only one part of the video that could be better. The railway in Montevideo is not new, it goes throw the same line where it has been for dacades, so they are putting underground some parts and making it wider in some others, so they are not cutting any neighborhoods, because most of those neighborhoods were built around the railway

@-JO4K-

14 күн бұрын

Yes, that’s a very important thing, the railway has only been modernized, it’s not new. The issue is that the infrastructure was from the 1900, now it’s safer

@Arodrim

13 күн бұрын

As an uruguayan as well, was thinking that the family that didn't got compensated was because they don't really own the land, but I'm not sure. It's terrible anyways

The scariest thing in this report is the forest floor. If you're Australian like me you know how dangerous that looks. Show that to any Rural Firefighter over here & they'd have a heart attack. There's a reason that these trees grow so fast. It's so they can bounce back quickly after a bushfire, and all that stuff on the ground acts like tinder to quickly spread the flames. You don't want to be anywhere near an Eucalyptus forest when the thing catches fire.

@buizelmeme6288

10 күн бұрын

Ooh! No wonder they don't let them in in the first place! Maybe that's why they let them into a smaller forest instead!

This story got dark. It’s awful for anyone to be moved from their home without proper compensation. Stories like this make you think just a little differently about everything by the end. Thank you for putting this out there.

@rundown132

23 күн бұрын

SUch is life for poor people

@markos0401

23 күн бұрын

It gets worse. This factories throw their waste into the rivers, blasting every living thing and ruin the soil. It was a huge controversy in Argentina years ago because we border the La Plata river (widest river in the world). Now the media does not cover it anymore.

@Malik-Ibi

23 күн бұрын

Well. It is singlecrop...

@tomsko863

23 күн бұрын

It's hard to watch "how the sausage gets made". The same process was done to extract the rare-earth metals that make up your phone and computer. It's a horror show watching how livestock are kept and slaughtered. The world can feel barbaric if you have excessive empathy.

@deleted-something

23 күн бұрын

@@tomsko863”excessive?”

We, South Americans (and most biologists) don't even call this "forests". Those are plantations of eucalyptus and also pines (exotic ones, came from North Hemisphere). Single species forests basically didn't exist in Brazil. Our natural forests are dense and diverse. I mean: lots of different species of trees and everything else. Probably buying wood from those plantations are still better for planet than illegal wood from our natural forests. Also, Uruguay had lots of natural grassland that MAYBE were not as ecologically important as Tropical and Atlantic Rain forests. But lots of exported wood are actually illegal, and sold like legal wood in important markets like USA and Europe, both for wood and combustible for thermoelectric plants sold like it was the "green" version of thermoelectric plants.

Hands down to one of Vox's most compelling storytelling and impeccable production quality🙌🏼

How can a less than 30min video reporting about real events look so captivating than Hollywoods movie nowadays. I feel like we could not get enough for this kind of video. Please keep producing them.

@Jaspher-gx8cp

17 күн бұрын

You should watch his report on the Madagascar crater village. That brought me to tears with how captivating and beautiful the storytelling was.

@verica6408

17 күн бұрын

@@Jaspher-gx8cp I've done it multiple time. The one in Algeria is also great. If possible, really want to request him to produce more videos.

@elguilloteguillenguillotin4155

15 күн бұрын

As an Uruguayan I tell you. Everything the left touches... will rotern

@Homer-OJ-Simpson

12 күн бұрын

This IS a movie. The cinematography, the story telling, the narration, etc.

monoculture woodlots are not forests.

@parasocialbondsmetaswvoits9078

23 күн бұрын

thank you

@Hypotaksen

23 күн бұрын

Yeah. We learned that by watching the video. But thanks for summarizing it for us.

@disorganizedorg

23 күн бұрын

They are forests by any sane definition.

@pistolen87

23 күн бұрын

Aren't woodlots are a type of forest?

@Bananappleboy

23 күн бұрын

​​@@disorganizedorgNot by ecosystem or in pre-existing natural origin, no. They're plantations, not naturally grown without human intervention, but forests nontheless. (definitions ftw)

Ever heard of eucalyptus oil? That's why nothing grows under those trees if the fallen leaves keep accumulating and decomposing. Eucalyptus has very pungent smell and it acts as deterrent for smaller organisms.

I grew up seeing these up close on every road trip. Those are referred to as "green deserts" in Brazil. They take up what was once land covered in lush rainforests full of biodiversity.

I live in Oregon. I used to think the endless sea of fir trees was the natural forest. Now I know it is just tree farms. It's been referred to as a "fir desert" and that's accurate. I live adjacent to these plantations and they are devoid of life. The difference in birdsong/shrubs/flowers is stark when compared to the natural forests next door.

@kentslocum

23 күн бұрын

I live in Eugene, Oregon, and many of the street trees planted along roadways are all one species. So when they become old or diseased, they all have to be cut down in one fell swoop. I believe there is an effort to mandate a diverse mix of different tree species for replanting efforts, but I am not sure.

@oteragard8077

22 күн бұрын

I think it was Drew Durnil, the ytber from California who exposed me to a map showing natural forested areas in the US 300 years ago to modern ones, and nearly all our forests according to whoever made that map have at some point been cut down and replanted. I don't even know if I've been in a purely natural forest before

@robertunderwood1011

21 күн бұрын

In the southern United States much of the forest is already been replaced by tree farms. A group called the Dogwood alliance focuses on the problems with this practice The irony is that the greens in Germany don’t want to burn their own coal so our southern forest are harvested as a renewable fuel And shipped to Germany, in wood pellets All that carbon that the tree sequestered for 20 years is burned in 20 minutes, so what is really renewable about it? The irony is that our environment is being compromised by the European green parties

@kentslocum

21 күн бұрын

@@robertunderwood1011 Yeah, it's funny how everyone freaks out about nuclear power, when it's literally the cleanest and safest source of power available. 😊

@supme7558

20 күн бұрын

Not true

Here in Finland we have about 30 million hectares of forest, out of which 86% is considered to be "economic", meaning that the end result of that forest is to be sold in some fashion. When seen from a plane, you see constantly massive forests where the trees are planted in neat and tidy rows. The worry about monoculture really woke up here in the 1980s, but while laws have been established since then to help increase the biodiversity of our forests, not much can be done in just a few decades. And our forestry industry is still seen as a national pride, something that cannot be touched because forests are really our one natural resource. And I in some way am proud of them, but stories like this still disgust me. It's unethical, and when UPM founded that factory, it was a big news here because that meant that for UPM, our own forests weren't profitable anymore. It might be due to the increased regulation or the overall price levels, but the end result was that companies such as UPM shut down pulp factories here and built new ones in Uruguay. In some way I feel ashamed to be a Finn for the way this was done by one of our biggest companies. But then again, wood and wood-derived products are needed to help tackle climate change. It just has to be done in an ethical way and this is not it.

@Aloddff

23 күн бұрын

A little bit of regulation could go very far. If the science can be used to create corridors of biodiversity to maintain the ecosystem whilst producing more complex multicultures that infix nitrogen and other nutrients and into the soil, the future of the forests and land can be preserved. Deregulation on the other hand promotes economic exploitation without anyone paying for the consequences of permanently denatured land

@ollie2111

23 күн бұрын

What about switching to hemp paper & infrastructure? I mean aside from the regulations, I wonder if theoretically that would be a way more eco-friendly situation in comparison to eucalyptus woodlots.

@tapio_m6861

23 күн бұрын

@@ollie2111 I am not an expert on these. Does hemp grow as fast as eucalyptus? That's one key benefit for these companies: the trees are "ripe" fast. If someone is an expert on what would be a more sustainable alternative, I would love to hear.

@ollie2111

23 күн бұрын

@@tapio_m6861 yes the hemp plant is not a tree and only takes 120 days to grow (looking it up just now). I'm not an expert either btw, I am just fascinated by random things :) I learned about it a year or two ago, that hemp fiber can be a great alternative, but I don't know if there are downsides and I don't get why it's not being switched to if its more practical and clearly way less time consuming. I would like to know if anyone knows if there are any downsides. Cause aside from that, the amount of time and space cut down comparing trees and hemp is significant.

@aribantala

23 күн бұрын

Yes, very true. It's not exactly very ethical to do this... Money does makes things go round But there must be something about this that the Uruguayan government also profited. 2 billion dollars worth of industry spawns in the country.

Helmets, shin guards and high visibility vests just to walk into a Forest. Haha what a time to be alive.

Was about to throw out a bunch of cardboard boxes I received from some recent online shopping. Now, it pains me to even think of discarding them so easily. I realize how much I've taken paper products for granted all my life-how cheap they are to buy, how easy they are to access, and how I use and dispose of them without even a second thought. Now I understand how impactful the pulp and paper industry is to our social and environmental welfare, despite never experiencing this for myself. Just because it's "not in my backyard", doesn't mean it isn't happening in many places around the world. Thank you for highlighting this very important issue.

Impeccable reporting. This tells such an important story that the title sells it short.

@DreadDeimos

23 күн бұрын

While I appreciate this report for the information it gives, I feel like it's a bit lopsided on dramatism. Yes, there's impact on lives and ecology. No, it's not only "corpos bad" and doom and gloom. The report fails to tell the story about jobs created, taxes paid, people that actually got the relocation money, research on the ecology impact (it does tell that a certain percentage of the land staying wild) that can lead to better outcomes in future (they also told that there was a research part of the plantation). I'm not trying to paint it white, but I'd love to see at least some contrast.

@boyoishere

23 күн бұрын

@@DreadDeimos It did mention jobs created and positive economic effects, but I agree it does end on a darker note

@acikacika

22 күн бұрын

Errr how is this amount of dramatization and James Joyse style storytelling impeccable journalism? Info and the uncovering are a great motive but come on.

@HelgaCavoli

20 күн бұрын

Kinda. It focus on HIS initial curiosity. Starting the video we know as much as he does. If the person is as interested as him, they'll go along with the ride.

@kateapple1

18 күн бұрын

Yeah, but the title got you to watch the video didn’t it? 😂

Never thought I'd be so interested in the afforestation project of Uruguay until today. Pretty fascinating stuff.

@ecognitio9605

22 күн бұрын

Farming a single tree species for wood pulp after chopping down the natural forest isn't afforestation 😂

@flamingflesh5976

20 күн бұрын

@@ecognitio9605 Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees (forestation) in an area where there was NO recent tree cover. Those eucalyptus tree farms are planted on grasslands, no? So it is afforestation.

Mossy Earth on KZread has a some great videos on barren monoculture forests and how they’re trying to correct the problems by flooding forests, removing trees etc & get the understory to come alive again. It’s a really good channel & so is Vox…Interesting stuff.

Didn't miss the problem for the fingerprint! Well done. Two missed mini-chapters: water table depletion (e.g., severe 2023 drought in Uruguay) and air/water contamination (e.g., conflict with Argentina since 2003 because of a UPM-Botnia pulp plant by the Uruguay River in Fray Bentos)

What has not been mentioned in this video is that Eucalyptus Trees are extremely flammable and when they burn, they burn very hot. In a drought, it would take very little to have wildfires on an epic scale. Just ask people from Australia and they will confirm this fact (where these trees are actually native)

@antoniocipolla3259

23 күн бұрын

no weeds under the tree could helps to prevent fires

@titaemira

23 күн бұрын

Same issue in Portugal 😢

@alfonsomora6028

23 күн бұрын

Hello, that's true, but I'm from Uruguay and last year we have the worst drought in decades and this tree didn't burn (or are least no one notice). By law all plantación must have a cut-fire around them and there are plenty of observation point with firefighters that are 24/7 watching the plantations.

@markcassidy1428

23 күн бұрын

I'm Australian lived through 2 bushfires in Victoria. Yes eucalyptus trees burn, but Einstein all trees native or introduced around the world will burn and especially during droughts.

@jattikuukunen

23 күн бұрын

Interesting sidenote: a certain amount of forest is intentionally burned in Finland every year to preserve species that depend on the habitat of burnt forest. Forest fires are a natural phenomeon that is not always negative, especially when the quantity is limited.

This made me realise how sort of ... comfortable I've gotten with paper. It's so much better than plastic, but that doesn't mean we can't still overproduce and overuse it.

@lis7742

8 күн бұрын

We are definitely taking paper for granted, wasting it.

They had one built in a village in my country. The pines not only get rid of wildlife, it alao drains a lot of water from the ground. On top of that the ground can not absorb moisture, so it causes floods.

There were huge protests in neighbouring Argentina regarding the contamination of shared rivers by the Uruguayan pulp industries.

This reminds me of the situation in the north of Spain, Galicia specifically. As in Uruguay, the wood industry realized that eucaliptus grows very fast and cleared hundreds of acres of the native forest to plant them. We learned the hard way that the end result was not good.

@PeidosFTW

22 күн бұрын

our peninsula is now infested with this damed tree now and it is miserable

@Hitsuji-78078

21 күн бұрын

Same with Asturias or many other sections in humid Europe.

@nunya2171

17 күн бұрын

One of the reasons is also over-regulation here in Australia, where these trees grow naturally, essentially making it near impossible to cut down these species of trees at all. There is even a case in Tasmania where a tree plantation was deemed an "old growth forest" because the trees were planted over 80 years ago. So even though the trees were planted with the express purpose to be harvested, they were not allowed to be touched. Hence places like Uruguay fill in the gap in the market causing other environmental damage, a perfect example of unintended consequences.

@5roundsrapid263

17 күн бұрын

Southern California planted them 100 years ago and they’ve been catching fire ever since…

I both love and hate how insanely nuanced this topic is. On one side this giant operation prepped a bustling new industry for Uruguay that would easily fund the country for years to come On the other, it destroys already established homes of people already living in Montevideo, displacing them and ruining their livelihoods and also costs Uruguay their natural forests. It's such a rare thing to see in today's journalism Insanely amazing topic and coverage

@throwaway756

23 күн бұрын

Uruguay has no big natural forests to speak of. The country is a prairie-type ecosystem (pampas).

@MooCowo

23 күн бұрын

If only it were two sided, the only reason UPM came to the country is to take advantage of the country and its people. Uruguay is getting a raw deal, they deserve more in return for the exploitation of their weaker economy.

@PokeNebula

21 күн бұрын

@@throwaway756 possibly op meant to say "costs uraguay their natural ecosystems"

@kusada3035

20 күн бұрын

not to mention this came from Vox where culture war "news" ran rampant before new management came in, they're making a massive comeback lately

@martinvinas_

20 күн бұрын

As said in the video, it doesn´t "fund the country for years to come". They operate in a tax free zone. Has almost no taxes at all including for the plantation part. UPM is a business, they just landed in Uruguay because it was the one that gave up the most, for little to no compensation. Also, cellulose production is very natural resource demanding, including the water used in the actual process that gets contaminated, treated to some extent but not to its original state, and thrown away. Just a loss for Uruguay.

Speaking as someone from California, Eucalyptus trees are a VERY, VERY bad idea. Companies did this in the 1800’s and now non-native Eucalyptus make up many of the forests near my house. I can take a 20 min drive to a eucalyptus forest, and maybe a 40 min - 90 min to a native forest.

*Wow, this video was a roller coaster… beautifully done. The way you walked us through this story was incredible. Like you were my friend, holding my hand telling me something new you learned, but with the storyline and production value of a million dollar documentary. Seriously well done.*

We should really distinguish planting trees from planting forests

I'm from Uruguay and I can say this video was really informative and educative! As a science student , a important thing that didn't mention is that's the ground/soil takes hundred to thousands of years to re generate and become productive again (despite the land owners use to plant another generation of trees after they deforest). Another thing to mention is that the mayority of the other 70% owners of the trees plantations are a couple of family's such as the actual president family, some ministers and other associated people.

@ardencho662

19 күн бұрын

sick

@Ricardo-lb4so

19 күн бұрын

Bien dicho Alfonso. A ver si el Frente Amplio logra revertir esto. Abrazo desde perú

@wile123456

19 күн бұрын

So its all corruption too

@OzzieStorm

18 күн бұрын

@@wile123456 from everything that is happening in the world today, what isn't corruption anymore.

@kart182

18 күн бұрын

Wow

Eucalyptus produce compounds that will inhibit or stop the growth of nearby plants to better compete for nutrients, sunlight, and other resources. This phenomenon is known as allelopathy.

I absolutely love these videos. This is the third in this style and they just keep getting better and better. Please keep them coming.

When you said, "what comes next" I was hoping it would be how they replant the land, add nutrients that were removed, etc. Part 2? Do they seed it with bacteria and fungi, leave it a year, then plant again?

@briankelly1240

23 күн бұрын

This! I want to know the same!

@gabriellarowden9442

23 күн бұрын

Yea me too!

@uggali

23 күн бұрын

Restore back to grassland!

@thewisefool4049

23 күн бұрын

Generally they'll prep it and replant more trees. Presumably they have an amount of land that means they can cycle trough the whole amount every 10 years. It's essentially farmland, just the crops are multi year.

@fullcircle.organics

23 күн бұрын

Here in Oregon after they harvest the timber they spray tons of chemicals so nothing else will grow and compete. There is no crop rotation just 100% douglas fir. I was appalled to see how many large tanker trucks they sprayed after harvesting a small clear cut by my house. My neighbor retired from Weyerhaeuser (they own almost all the private forest land in OR) and said they spray stuff so nasty nothing else will grow for 4 years. All these lands are above pristine creeks that flow into our main rivers. It's a wonder we have any salmon left.

This is absolutely PHENOMENAL journalism! He went were the story took him and gave so much context. Brilliant storytelling, that was brilliantly shot. This was excellent!

@diemturner5755

16 күн бұрын

If vapidity had mass your skull would have caved in on itself by now. Worst piece of "journalism" and storytelling since the telephone book of any year in history ever.

You didn't need to travel to South America to see this. This has been going on in Arkansas for decades. Weyerhauser has been planting and harvesting pine trees to the determent of local species. They don't plant following the contour of the terrain, but in a lot of places you can see clear tree rows on Google Earth.

I really like the way your content is structured, it is very informative. I also like how you interact with industry professionals to get precise information instead of just assumptions. I've learned a lot with just 2 videos and I'm keen to watch more.👏

The Central Railway has always been there (since the British built it back in the 1800s). The project just modernized it. There were some mismanagement in the construction process leading to the problems mentioned, but 99% of the land expropriated were not homes. From all the bad that UPM does to this country, the Central Railway is not one. It is something that Uruguay needed to reduce transportation costs across all industries, since it has the most expensive transpo cost of the region.

@tunnelsloth5948

22 күн бұрын

What are some of the bad things they do?

@aMMa1726

22 күн бұрын

@@tunnelsloth5948 For instance, contamination of rivers which results in total extermination of all species and the contamination of all the surrounding soil + water which is used as farmland. This just happened some months ago with a spill of high concentrated caustic soda to the most important river of Uruguay.

"Trucks full of logs driving out- empty trucks coming back". I once worked on a farm and saw the same with trucks full of harvested potatoes. They never brought anything back either.

@isaaccaraballo5359

21 күн бұрын

I think he meant it as a parallel with the fact that this company is not really nurturing the land that it's profiting from, they may be giving the scraps of the profit that the government obligates them to, but it's not sustainable enough, or at least not for the land or the people that are being left out of their own homes without compensation

@robertunderwood1011

21 күн бұрын

You don’t know about it, but it is really no secret. If you were willing to eat organisms like bacteria yeast fun and algae you can survive on manufactured food nutritionally as good as the stuff you’re eating now and potentially a whole lot cheaper

@Kwijiboi

20 күн бұрын

They brought back capacity.

@Kwijiboi

20 күн бұрын

They brought back capacity.

you have successfully turned a boring topic into an interesting video. From the moment i saw the fingerprint-like forest, i knew it is artificial planted. but you managed to lead the story from there

I should admit that I have never been left without a ton of wonders just by watching videos from this creator... Very well educative and full of information and sometimes endless piles of questions... Thank you very much for always taking your time to collect, research, produce and share with us all these marvellously well documented videos... I've never regretted watching any of your videos this far... 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼

Yo eucalyptus depreciates the soil fertility by a lot. What happens to the soil afterwards? Does anything grow there at all? How long would it take for the soil to recover (without human intervention)? How many decades does the land go back in ecological succession? I feel you guys should really dig more into this. Just how much damage does this industry have on our planet? This video currently, feels incomplete. Please make a video or 2 to talk more about the aforementioned questions.

@tondekoddar7837

18 күн бұрын

Yes, also compare where could the packaging material etc could be done more ecologically, how many % of Uruguay area is this monoculture. This was big news years ago when it was starting (in news in Finland, and main news did cover all sides, with reporters going to those displaced people, and those getting employment - well, not so much those since not so flashy news)... But yeah, making plastics and the material downriver from said chemical plants compared to this, can't know. I'm also not sure, I thought there were "safety areas" so total ecosystems wouldn't be destroyed, and still I don't think whole countrys grasslands ecosystems are gone. I do hope some more digging into it too.

@diemturner5755

16 күн бұрын

No, the soil is worthless when they're done with it which is why they make mud cakes out of it and sell them to Haiti.

Vox, never change please. You and your team always manage to find the obscure curiosities about the world. Stuff hiding in plain sight but almost no one outside of the area really knows much about. Bringing light to things that probably should be talked more about.

In Chile we have CMPC, despite is a national company, is the same situation but with a much complex problem: mapuche people used to live in there. Thanks for doing this video and giving some visibility to this problem.

The reason the Eucalyptus plantations are devoid of understory growth is because the Eucalyptus plantings literally stop other plants from growing there. The same results regarding hydrological consequences. Eucalypts use a lot of water. They are somewhat ubiquitous in California. The same results definitely are occurring here.

This is the kind of journalism the world needs. Thank you.

This is the Vox style I fell in love with years ago! This is raw, talented journalism, amazing editing and storytelling, and most of all, taking risks in conflict areas to tell a powerful story ... Keep up the amazing work, Vox! 👏👏👏 May I also remind you of the fact that our Native American population in our motherland, the Continent of America before the European Colonizers arrived, was around 15 millions, while the European population in their motherland, the Continent of Europe was around 25 millions. Today, Native American population is 15 million, while the European population, in the Continents of America + Europe, is a staggering TWO BILLION! A shockingly sad truth. 😔 In my humble opinion, it's about time to decolonize the Colonized lands, and return it to rightful owners Native American people. Notorious global cardinal crimes the Christian West has committed, and benefited a great deals, such as Slavery & Colonialism had long been over, why on earth is notorious Colonization still lingering on, may I ask? 😔

@elektrofunkzz

23 күн бұрын

Reminds me of the old Vice News

@vmarsfire

23 күн бұрын

Everything is political, even this.

@Daniel12000

23 күн бұрын

This is clearly wildly political

@NurseVic-sy5nd

22 күн бұрын

"We're still here ... We are not going anywhere." ~ Native Americans 😔

@Jouhatsu-oi5qg

21 күн бұрын

@@NurseVic-sy5nd For honest truths about Colonialism/Colonization, pls read the informative multi-pages comment by 'Lonely Alaskan' at, "Complete History Of Indigenous America Before Colonialism/Chronicle", on KZread (which by the way, got pushed down below 100 other comments lately).

loving these google maps deep dives, it's like witnessing adventures child me could only dream of and it makes me so happy. keep up the great work!

Truly fascinating work, this sort of journalism is wonderful!

One aspect not mentioned in the video was the reason they plant the trees along contour lines, so here's (as far as I'm aware of) an explanation of it, TLDR: The main drive behind planting them that way is so that they oppose water, thus preventing erosion (loss of nutrients), and keeping water for as long as possible. As water flows downhill, were the trees planted parallel to the inclination, would mean a lower yield on production as some of the soil/plants would 1. get washed away due to the lack of proper vegetation, washing nutrients from the soil 2. make the water not infiltrate as much, as the soil water concentration increases, inversely does the timed required for it to absorb more water, by letting the water rest longer, you increase the soil water saturation. This is not particular of forest plantations either, but it a lot more obvious because of the tree covers. It would have been a great addition to the video were this explained, but it may have not made sense from a narrative point of view (only speculation). Still, the video was surprising good, I didn't expect them to grasp the social aspect of it, and what it really means for these kind of corporations to be so entangled with production, I would have loved if they went a little bit further and explicitly how this is consequence of the capitalist society we live in, and the division between countries, but maybe that's too much to ask.

I feel bad for that one scientist who gave the topology answer. One question and that is all. His lab looks like what movie production make out what an ideal research labs to be. Very modern.

@evindrews

23 күн бұрын

I'm sure they shot a whole interview and it was just cut

This should be the gold standard for reporting. Interesting, well-researched, and with fantastic production value. Your videos never stop blowing me away and have kept me hooked every single time.

This is a masterpiece truly, I love how you can turn nothing into something just with curiosity. It’s inspiring. 😊

So interesting how this story unfolded. For the first half I was like, "that's so interesting, more trees!". Then it the rest came to light and changed my entire perspective. Well done.

i love when a google image screenshot sparks a whole research video!!!

@christophergaspar6520

23 күн бұрын

remember the Madagascar video!? same concept, super cool

@galaxywizard8904

23 күн бұрын

​@@christophergaspar6520and the Sahara video which was the first one in this entire series

@adiabd1

22 күн бұрын

All thanks to a spark of curiosity

@justsiphe4281

22 күн бұрын

@@christophergaspar6520 its still the coolest video they have yet!!!😭

I use a Lowrance GPS in my Jeep because of the topographical maps. When I saw your thumbnail, my first thought was elevation lines. I remember in the early 2000s when we all thought that computers and the internet would make paper obsolete. We are killing ourselves.

I'm from Finland and I knew this video was going to talk about the UPM plant. It's been in the news quite a lot, but I still learned a lot from this video. Thanks for the reporting!

I live in northern Spain where we also have some relatively important pulp production. These plants STINK and you can see how out of place the eucalyptusses are in comparison to our native forests. Slowly but surely vivid orange and yellow autumms become increasingly dull

@Cookiepresident

22 күн бұрын

That's the thing what I noticed when I was in northern Spain. Those forest are so quiet, too quiet.

@Blehstor

20 күн бұрын

@@Cookiepresident its dead land, only wood comes out of there.. they're killing land literally

@squidcaps4308

19 күн бұрын

There is UPM plant next town, has been there all my life. It used to stink regularly but these days it stinks twice a year. They recycle the gases now, and only when there is maintenance shut down does the stink get out. It is much more potent for sure but at least it is just twice a year. If your plants stink all the time... well, there is a solution for that. People just have to demand it.

I would not call the Centrail railway "new". Yes it's been upgraded in the past few years and in several stretches "straightened", but outside Montevideo. In Capurro it "divides" the suburb for decades the same way. (Which does not mean that some houses weren't newly demolished because of these recent construction works - but it is not a totally new railway as the video suggests).

@jangxx

23 күн бұрын

Yeah I was wondering about that. The map at 20:55 looks like the railway could've easily gone around the city as well. Makes sense that it has been there for a long time.

@tomascaetano5011

22 күн бұрын

they are not "new" the route its the same but the rail itself is brand new, made with the newests standards and materials.. this is why they had to take those properties form poeople because of the security practices... they couldnt have people living next to it. Back to the old railroad... these standards did not exist yet.. prob 100+ years ago.. so in terms of doing something "right" makes sense to take that land... what I dont approve is the goverment not paying for it yet..

@Valery0p5

20 күн бұрын

In my country people get paid in advance, and if they drag their feet with attorneys and such can even ask for an higher compensation, slowing the works down... Projects need to be made to reduce their impact as much as possible and people need to get paid, this is an issue of democracy, only indirectly connected to the pulp industry

@csr7080

19 күн бұрын

For all the issues with the pulp production, it's still good that the transport will mostly be by train instead of purely by truck. Expropriation is always heartbreaking for the people affected and of course there needs to be proper compensation, but all in all I'd still rather see rail infrastructure strengthened.

Fantastic report, and so well done and presented! Huge Thanks!

This video is so incredibly well executed. Fantastic job guys.

There is a similar problem for wildlife in Scotland but from reforestation with a single non-native species the Douglas Fir.

This is just like mosaic here on vancouver island, a company who owns almost the entire island and has turned it into a lifeless tree farm just like in this video

Such an amazing work of journalism. Gracias.

this has to be my favorite YT video series (along with Ted Ed animated videos). I mean, this is guy is just the personification of dedication. he doesn't even know how much he inspires.

It's just a huge plantation rather than a eco friendly forest

@zoch9797

17 күн бұрын

Spent 25 minutes to explain a 2 minute query.

Great documentary. Thank you. I'm glad the ecological cost of those monoculture was discussed.

They're plantations, not forests. A forest is a title that should have to be earned through its ecology.

Such a great documentary, loved it 10/10

Forestry Firefighter here, that brush on the ground looks severely flammable. Do the forests ever have fires here?

@anonmouse6337

23 күн бұрын

Eucalyptus is very flammable. In Australia there's a place called the Blue Mountains bc the trees release so much gas clouds that everything has a blue cast. Idk if there are fires in this plantation but it sounds like it's something they've considered because the vid mentions they have firebreaks.

@joncohen6059

23 күн бұрын

I'm sure they have some high tech system to put it out quickly to protect their profits

@eruditeboi

23 күн бұрын

We have plenty but monoculture plantations usually are not extensive, but scattered among a large area, so that when one starts to burn it generally won't jump to other monocultures. However when the fires are big enough, they burn through the firebreak and absolutely devastate a considerable part of the country. But generally it's cheaper to let it burn that actually prevent anything, nothing high tech here

@edwardbrown3721

23 күн бұрын

Uruguayan here. All the time, they're usually not big but in summer they happen constantly, it's usually not a problem in the middle of nowhere areas but it's more of an issue when it's closer to population centers because it makes them harder to put out

@PeidosFTW

22 күн бұрын

yes, here in portugal, many forest are infested with eucalyptus and they are a plague during the summer because of how easily they can start a huge fire

12:18 Apparently Uruguay has no shortage of personal injury lawyers.

@oteragard8077

22 күн бұрын

I like the irony of "shinguards to protect against snakes" and 15:37 "the trees have already killed everything underneath them"

@robertunderwood1011

21 күн бұрын

For the last hundred years or so, the holy Grail of bio technology is the fixation of nitrogen at low temperature and pressures I think we are close Be ready to stand up and cheer !

Wow, I love how this video is structured and explains the overlooked aspects of the afforestation.

I'm sorry but how is this not actually common sense. The second i saw the fingerprint I put it all together with the rest of little pieces too and I kept waiting for something unexpected to happen 😔

I'm absolutely captivated by the storytelling and how it seamlessly flows from one topic to the next. Lovely as always, thanks Vox!

@diemturner5755

16 күн бұрын

People like you get captivated by the storytelling of molecules at absolute zero. There wasn't even a crumb of a speck of a morsel of a hash brown of storytelling anywhere in the last 30 minutes. The fact that you think that there was only confirms that your parents didn't read to you in bed when you were a child and that, as a result, your cerebral development was severely stunted and never recovered.

Dang Cristoph, Vox finally agreed to fund a trip for you after the success of your adventure videos eh? 😂

@throwaway756

23 күн бұрын

Christophe: *_*starts checking satellite photos of the moon_**

@Blex_040

21 күн бұрын

Next video: Why are the maldive islands so weirdly shaped? Christoph: I had to go to this five star luxury island resort for a week to figure something out about the shape of these islands :D

I really enjoyed learning about this!! Guess that’s why you have 12M+ subscribers! Lolol This was put together beautifully. You’re headed for big things!! Just thought I’d throw a little sunshine your way!! Y’all be good and take care!! 🫶🏼✌🏼Peace✌🏼🫶🏼

This was an incredible story. Starting from a simple observation and ending with a global one. Thanks for the work.

The piece was great, but kinda missed the explanation of why big plants are planted on contour lines. Just a bit more information would have been much more satisfying.

@joaquinclavijo7052

23 күн бұрын

They're planted by machines, they need to be in line

@masiv1001

23 күн бұрын

@@joaquinclavijo7052 That's not the main reason though, TLDR, the main drive behind planting them that way is so that they oppose water, thus preventing erosion (loss of nutrients), and keeping water for as long as possible. As water flows downhill, were the trees planted parallel to the inclination, would mean a lower yield on production as some of the soil would 1. get washed away due to the lack of proper vegetation, washing nutrients from the soil 2. make the water not infiltrate as much, as the soil water concentration increases, inversely does the timed required for it to absorb more water, by letting the water rest longer, you increase the soil water saturation. This is not particular of forest plantations either, but it a lot more obvious because of the tree covers. It would have been a great addition to the video were this explained, but it may have not made sense from a narrative point of view (only speculation). Still, the video was surprising good, I didn't expect them to grasp the social aspect of it, and what it really means for these kind of corporations to be so entangled with production, I would have loved if they went a little bit further and explicitly how this is consequence of the capitalist society we live in, and the division between countries, but maybe that's too much to ask.

@jonathanwei2477

21 күн бұрын

yeah, i felt the interview with the scientist and the guide was a bit short. however the interview in the end with the displaced homeowners was eye opening.

@Amped4Life

21 күн бұрын

Its because contour lines arent that interesting. It just follows topography woohoo. ​@jonathanwei2477

We have this here in the US with loblolly pines. Pines are native to the US, however, and they do provide more biodiversity than these Eucalyptus. Still, the forest industry uses land just like any other industrialized agriculture and inevitably there will be environmental concerns with that.

Thank you for quickly answering the question posed in the video title. And, then moving on to how, why, and what this mean for the people and the environment.

Kudos to the team! great journalism!!

Driving behind log trucks? someone hasn't seen Final Destination 2...

@olsim1730

22 күн бұрын

Or someone doesn't live in a programmed fantasy world like you...

@justtolivecomment

22 күн бұрын

@@olsim1730 brah...

@josephmagana6235

19 күн бұрын

Such a weird stunt, like the existence of the paper mill was a secret he had to uncover?

Vox discovering the concept of ''green deserts'', something we learn in elementary schools here in Brazil.

@JH-pt6ih

19 күн бұрын

lol - the entire video is for young people learning what has been known for years. It's the level "documentary" videos mostly exist in today - 101 level and often replete with simplistic ideas that create the "a little information is dangerous" situation.

Thats not a forest. That's a MONOCULTURE FIELD.

This was brilliant. My family is from Uruguay and as a child my brother and I saw 'Fuera papeleras' signs everywhere. I was never curious enough to pull the thread. Thanks Christophe.

Thats actually a really good report, quality jurnalism, eye catching premise, surprising twist, conclusions quite in depth and with nuance. This is what the job is about

Isn't it intriguing to think that somewhere in Finland, the owners or higher-ups of UPM are watching this video, just like us, and might be fuming right now because you've somewhat painted them as villains in this episode?

@tybronx2446

23 күн бұрын

Good

@eQualizeri

23 күн бұрын

They have had their share of bad press for decades. This is nothing new.

@AB-wf8ek

23 күн бұрын

I'm pretty sure they don't care and this video hardly affects them

@tapio_m6861

23 күн бұрын

As if this is UPM's first rodeo.

@SlightyLessEvolved

23 күн бұрын

They aren't villains. They just aren't heroes either.

24:12 the part where he talks about the ants makes me want to cry, very great story telling there!!

The forresty industry helps Uruguay massively and will help even more in the future as further investments turn into infrastructure. Though the plantations affects the enviroment it is minimal. If that land wasn't used for planting it would've been used for cattle. However the enviroment is still affected. There's a risk of fires and people have been kicked onto the streets. I feel like this will help Uruguay more In the future as it currently struggles to move up the ladder in its path to development

Niece piece, but I feel that it is missing the point from 4:50. The area used for plantations is not protected in any way, and the only alternative economic use is cattle farming. From environmental standpoint tree plantations will always be better than cattle farms

These are the type of stories to look out for. Niche yet super interesting and great to watch.

That's really sad, good you're making people aware of this.

Well done. Everything about this video was creative intelligence. I learned a lot. Kept me til the end. Wonderful work. Now I want to do one about a different forest. Inspiring!

That's no forest, that's monoculture, a forest is made of much more than just trees next to each other.

Wild for sure. You'd think they'd get their money for their home ASAP given how severe a disruption that is.

"Wood truck..." lol I believe those are called "logging trucks."

Edit: Disregard below. The video has a very important point to make and does it really well. 1:20 Because they're manually planted that way. Saved you 25 minutes.