February 12th Meeting- Oxygen Park

Buzz Thielemann

Buzz Thielemann spoke to the Medford Rogue Rotary club on what an Oxygen Park is and the part that it plays in the future of healthy air quality.  As large manufacturing and general pollutants enter our atmosphere it slowly deteriorates the quality of the air we breath and the condition of our atmosphere. The idea that natural habitation could help offset the damage to our environment feels a bit lofty. But if you start looking at what a wild untouched or even a well managed parcel of land can produce in clean & fresh air, you start to see the possibilities.   There are many studies that show various types of plants that sequester and store carbon & methane for years, pulling them out of the atmosphere and air we breathe. As well as putting off varying degrees of clean fresh oxygen through photosynthesis.  The effectiveness of each plant is different and even the age of the plant plays a part in this important role.  So then what is an Oxygen Park? It is a parcel of land set aside to be just that…and oxygen producing section of land for decades to come. Buzz has developed a 5.3 acre parcel off Stewart Road in Medford Oregon that has produces over 129 metric tons/yr of Oxygen as well as sequestering over 48 tons/yr of carbon.   So much impact for a small piece of land, O2 Park is a registered trade mark and a non-profit entity.  While it is too small to play in the game of carbon credits, it is a start.  What a beautiful start to what we hope to see more of as we find ways to mitigate the damaged atmosphere.