7,000 Evergreens: Planting 7,000 good ideas

Planting 7,000 of anything should be a good idea.

It definitely was for the first to do so: The late German artist and early Green Party activist Joseph Beuys, whose project 7,000 Oaks was a landmark in conceptual art and environmentalism. (Did I really describe this guy as early and late in one sentence? sheesh)

Now, I don't even remember what I was surfing around looking for or what I clicked on a few minutes ago - when I came across this interesting project: 7,000 Evergreens.

This project applies the Beuys concept to artificial trees. For $10, anyone can sponsor an artificial tree to be planted somewhere in the U.S. The idea being that you can keep artificial trees that are being discarded, out of landfills and, at the same time, actually beautify the landscape.

The site lacks some explanation about things I would be curious about like: how is it ensured that your "planted" tree does not become just another piece of junk on a beach in a couple of years; and, how would the planting be controlled over the vast territories envisioned?

Anyway, it was more the idea itself that caught my eye, and that is probably more the intention of the creator, than the logistical exercise of actually planting and tending the 7,000 trees of Christmases Past. (The count of trees planted is currently at 142.)

To take Beuys' creation one step further, Why not plant 7,000 of anything else? How about 7,000 projects X 7,000 units included in each one?

as in,

1. 7,000 good ideas
2. 7,000 grass seeds
3. 7,000 art projects
4. 7,000 apple trees
5. 7,000 flowers
6. 7,000 crocuses
7. 7,000 used picture frames

and so forth...

end result - approx. 49 million units of positive energy spread around the world.

The projects could be conceived just about as fast as a person could type them.

It would take a *little* more work generating buy-in...

For starters I will do my little part and buy in to the 7,000 Evergreen project. After that, we'll see...

143 - 6,857 to go