the solutions are embarrassingly simple

Thanks for fixing the link!

Sorry for the mix up. This should be the correct video entitled,  Simon Sinek: How to start a cultural transformation    

i edited your post to fix it.

The message from the video is:  I direct my message to these forums and the dailyish email and ignore all others.  Change happens when the people that hear my message take it farther.  But any attempt I make to take it farther will be, pretty much, a waste of time.

Am I close?

I think you are close... I don’t think your attempts to take it farther are a “waste,” per say. If you had all the time and resources to spare, you could just keep broadcasting your ideas like broadcasting seeds without any thought to whether they will take root or not and eventually you might see some progress.

But, let’s say you had been gifted a small amount of very rare, precious, awesome seeds...say, 48 Sepp Holzer Grain seeds... would you just broadcast them anywhere without regard to whether you have the right soil conditions, or the right climate, or even the right season? I would hope not...

Change WILL happen when the right people hear your message AND the right time and conditions exist for that change to take root. Sinek states very explicitly that while his theory is 100% effective, he can never state when or where it will happen...  no one can... but this is the long game.

So IMHO, like sepp seeds, don’t plant all your awesome ideas and inspiration in dead soil. It will just burn you out (and we need you to stay strong). Instead, focus on the environments/the communities/the brains that are ready to take your message and run with it... and focus your energies on nurturing, supporting, loving-on those brains AND ONLY those brains.

I can see many examples of where you have done just that, and to great effect!

Hi
I live in Devon, England.
I live in a tiny home, a 20ft static truck.
I heard of permaculture in the mid ‘80’s and met Bill Mollison at a city Farm in Bristol. I took a permaculture d course in the ‘90’s.
I happened to be in a relationship with somebody who wasn’t interested in coming along on the ‘journey’. He has since committed suicide since the pandemic hit and a factor in his demise was frustration with the human race and the state of the world.
Anyway, i am living on 9 acres of land without permissions and trying my damnedest to stick to permaculture principles.
I would love to install a rocket mass heater but really feel at 66 that I do not have the skills to install one inside and have limited means to pay someone to do it and lack of physical strength to set up some systems.
I have a scythe but physically can’t cut a lot of the hay here. I have deer here who demolish trees if I’m not on the ball. (Just seen Sep Holzer’s remedy via you by the way).
I am frustrated by what I can achieve here with little help and like you frustrated with human nature.
Changing minds through education is a slow process and I believe that people need an immediate/personal disaster or a war to kick them into a different gear.
I think you need to carry on doing what you are doing but accept the fact that our civilisation may be on the decline, the survivors of which could well be all the permies.
I live knowing i am doing my best and not just changing lightbulbs.
Thanks for yr inspiration

I am with you on that. Im still having trouble breaking through to my own family. A few are getting it but they are the minority. The scariest part is that the little kids still arent getting it. But im determined in my efforts.

The big pharma approach is not only killing the bees. Great video!

paul wheaton wrote:I think this is the key to today's post.   I am not going to try to do this anymore.  It is up to you and everybody reading this.  I have spent ten years trying.   I have reached a lot of brains, but apparently, not enough.  Clearly, I don't have a knack for it.   I am a novelty to a few people, but I am not the person to carry the message.  Apparently, I cannot even reach the people that can carry the message.  I have tried.  

So, when it comes to marketing, and reaching celebrities, and connecting to the masses, apparently this task is for somebody else.     With that in mind, let me ask you:  have you tried?

Just need to bump this bit.

I watch the Joe Rogan Experience (podcast) regularly and he often brings up sustainability, regenerative agriculture, the carbon cycle, feeding the population without monocrops, and incorporating animals into the land without feedlots and commercial practices. He asks his guest questions about these things and they rarely have good answers. He has had Joel Salatin on the show once and it was great, but thats the only thing remotely close to permaculture that I have seen on the show and Joel/polyphase farms is the only thing that gets referenced…

Joe Rogan has millions of daily followers. His podcasts are usually 3 hours long and are long form, open minded discussions. He also has a way to suggest guests on his website. I also believe he usually pays for his guests travel to and from his studio. He loves hearing about great ideas of how to make the world a better place and to give a (massive) platform to those spreading the ideas.

It seems to me like there are a lot of reasons to get someone onto the podcast. Paul and Geoff Lawton are the only people that come to mind for me, but I’m sure there are many other credible, knowledgeable, experienced people that would do the world a great service by getting on that show. Paul has made it clear that he doesn’t feel this is a job for him. I’ve already been unsuccessful at getting in contact with Geoff Lawton…

Who else would be a good candidate for this? Im sure many of you could list all sorts of experienced, knowledgeable people who may even be great at pitching ideas. People I cant think of or haven’t yet heard of.

What are your thoughts and suggestions?

I am willing to be on shows - I have done a lot of that.  I am just no longer going to try to get on shows - it turns out I have no abilities for that.

The purpose of this thread is to respond to stuff where people say "Paul, you need to contact _______  to get the word out" and I have now taken a hard position of "It turns out I am not able to do that.  If you set it up, I will show up."

Yesterday I saw this

https://www.reddit.com/r/Permaculture/comments/155l7ik/it_feels_so_stupid_to_hear_people_complaining/

Permaculture enthusiasts downvoted it into oblivion.  And came up with a barrage of shitty comments.  

Permaculture enthusiasts.

People keen on permaculture.



Kinda seems like this message is the core of my better world book.  Grow a garden.  Consider community.  Rocket mass heater. Wofati.  


The first reply, which has 46 upvotes

If you think there's only one single solution to climate change and food shortages and that it's to plant more trees, then you shouldn't be calling other people stupid.

Wow.

I think planting more trees would, as a single solution, solve climate change and food shortages.  Sure, it would be wise to solve these problems on many fronts, but as a single solution it gets it done.



If there got to be a hundred million people keen on planting a hundred trees each.  I think that would solve a lot of global problems.  I'll take it.  

And if some additional gardens get planted along the way, that would be a bonus.  And sprinkle in some rocket mass heaters, even better.  

And we never had to wag our finger at ... well ...  any bad guys.  We did it ourselves - without them.



I saw somebody on the internet advocate for planting trees to permaculture peeps and that person got shouted down.  I guess I wanna get the vibe that, in this case, it is a reflection of that particular community.  I hope that here on permies, we would be supportive of that person. Please give a thumbs up for this post and maybe reply with a kind word if you would support that person.  

So often if I happen to speak publicly about these ideas, I get a lot of stuff about corporations and government.  I love this infographic

paul wheaton wrote:I am willing to be on shows - I have done a lot of that.  I am just no longer going to try to get on shows - it turns out I have no abilities for that.

The purpose of this thread is to respond to stuff where people say "Paul, you need to contact _______  to get the word out" and I have now taken a hard position of "It turns out I am not able to do that.  If you set it up, I will show up."

Any guidance as to what sorts of audiences you'd be ok with? I can think of 4 or 5 podcast and livestream type shows I could try to work some magic on, each with their own special brand of "alternative media" and subsection of audience that would be interested in what you have to bring them, but the *association* with certain groups makes some people freak out over reputations (specifically things like "conspiracy theories", alternative history, what's now considered right-of-center, etc ... joe rogan dabbles in all this, but doesn't carry the same "stink" for some reason)

Also, any concern about "numbers"? As in "if this wont be seen by more than X people, it's not worth doing" - that might be an issue in some cases where we're talking a smaller but very eager for knowledge audience that would welcome what you have to bring them.

...I do say this with past experience connecting a couple people with podcasters that resulted in multiple appearances, so I'm really not blowing smoke up your behind :)  I have two people right off that I would love to see you (Paul) connect with

Hi Paul,

Best food forest grower greetings from France (( -:',

Thank you for the show !¡!

Never give up, please.

The stuff you do it's like planting seeds, trees need time to grow.

I have been diagnosed with arthritis 15 years ago, too much pain in the joints, got prescribed pills which didn't help.
I changed my diet, this took soooome time to get used to.
No more pain for the last 12 years.

All the best to you,

Herb

Please forgive me if I come off less than tactfully in this post. I am trying to figure out how to phrase things in such a way that they make sense, without whining.

As someone who lives in the suburbs, in a community with an HOA, and in an existing, fairly-large home, “put in a rocket-mass heater!” seems impractical. I do not have the knowledge or the skills to do it myself. I do not know anyone in the area who is able to do such a thing, and I have no idea what the building codes would permit. I do not know that a rocket-mass heater would heat a home of the size I have (approximately 2500 square feet, not including the basement, with elevated ceilings).

“Tiny home living!” … well, that would mean I’d need to move, which is a large impact on the environment. I really like my home and my neighbors, and I have already been putting in the best improvements on my home and garden that I can on a small scale. Our home is already built, so the environmental impact from that is already done. Our lot is just under a quarter of an acre; I intend to food-forest what I can, but again, it must pass HOA approval. Besides that, the larger home means that I have storage for extra food supply, my canning equipment, my sewing equipment, my tools, my husband’s hobbies, and can host guests for the day and overnight in comfort and privacy.

“Graywater!” — is on my wishlist, and that will definitely be a thing when we can afford to do it. We added solar this past year.

“Clotheslines!’ — investing in some more drying racks is something on my to-do as well. I cannot line-dry outside, not because of the HOA (they do allow temporary clotheslines), but because I’m so allergic to some of the molds here that I’ve had to start allergy shots. (Do not get me started on dietary changes for allergies. I’ve done them. I am wildly allergic to outdoor molds with or without dietary adjustment.)

I think what I’m trying to say in a nutshell is that while the answers look simple, putting them into effect is not turn-key. As someone who thinks permaculture is the bomb and I want to do as much of it as is feasible, as someone without a number of the skills and with suburban limitations, it would help greatly if I could call someone and say “please come to my house and see if it’s suitable for a rocket-mass heater, and quote me and show me the plans for installing one.”

Leanne Opaskar wrote:.....I want to do as much of it as is feasible, as someone without a number of the skills and with suburban limitations, it would help greatly if I could call someone and say “please come to my house and see if it’s suitable for a rocket-mass heater, and quote me and show me the plans for installing one.”

I'm just going to shoot from the hip here, but I suspect your view represents that of the majority of the viewers, even if possibly not the members, of this forum.  'Feasibility' is key here....and sometimes we just have to do what we can while still spreading the word and making small impacts where possible.  Even in the small area of drying clothes on a line, could you possibly make it a personal mission to try to overturn the HOA position on this?  It seems like such a rule is meant to convey a certain 'image' of the neighborhood or subdivision and as at least some aspects of Colorado remain forward thinking, perhaps convince the governing body of the HOA that dry Colorado air along  the front range is perfect for drying garments in a low-impact manner.  [If unsuccessful, create a large grape arbor and 'hide' your clothesline among the leaves!  ]  

I tend to think of these issues with the more Buddhist idea of objects being 'events'....thus, your house, the HOA, the subdivision, and even the State of Colorado, ..... all are events that will evolve and adapt over time.  Do what you can with what you've been given and with what you can impact in a small way and keep infecting other minds along the way.

Me thinks a  friend put it well when he said, "[u]ntil their ox gets gored, they won't be interested in learning how to deal with the problem."

For us, it was law, agency policies, procedures, and dealing with public agents at the local, state and federal levels.  Those agents included cops, planning boards, county commissioners, judges, IRS agents and so on.  Problems included tickets for doing ten or so over on a long, mostly deserted, desert highway, agents interpreting planning laws in ways that fit their personal/private agendas, IR agents soliciting crimes in the course of targeting their masters for destruction, parents wrongfully ejected from their children's lives.

At every twist and turn, it seemed, someone needed help from Goliath's attacks. Many had already been financially devastated by deep pockets agencies and the attorneys who held themselves out as competent to take them on. Others were broke from the start and had to settle for public defenders (pretenders) who gained their offices by way of bids that could be said to have doomed 90% of their clientele to plea bargains that never should have been considered.  Others were suffering the end run arounds liberty protections agents conned We The People into accepting (e.g., converting minor traffic offences into so called infractions, doing away with the Reasonable Doubt Doctrine and other protections, leaving them, fully, at the mercy of attorneys turned all wise and knowing, unbiased judges via the magic of politics.

To better ourselves and to aid others, groups were formed. The groups studied laws, court rules, policies, procedures, and individual cases of attendees. We learned and taught each other how to write declarations or affidavits, motions, and pleadings, including counter complaints. We learned about public records laws, to allow us to learn all we could about the agencies and agents with which we were dealing.  Including their acts that could get them charged criminally. We did a lot of reading and a lot of writing.  We began winning cases.  

Like many other similar groups out there, we caught the attention of public agents, both locally and federally.  Subsequently, some attendees "got turned," and paid agents were planted to steer the group. Fortunately, our group focused on law and did not blend extremism into the meetings. So those paid and unpaid agents accomplished nothing more than an opportunity for a few news outlets to badmouth citizens exercising liberty rights. A few member did push schemes for which they could not provide any backing in law. Things like Strawman, lien processes and so on, but they, eventually, were minimized in their use.

Most who came to the meetings seeking help were overwhelmed. Think of it being like acquiring a virgin, forty acre parcel with a fixer upper house needing major work, having no experience at handyman tools and work, and no experience at farming or even gardening. You have little, if any, money. You want help, but those offering it want you to do your own leg work, least their lives be consumed building your kingdom. The only they they would offer is, knowledge.

Some never came back. Like those who dropped a problem in our lap, then expected to be able to go hang out at the local tav, while we solved their problem. Others stayed away because they couldn't believe they were starting out just like we did, but, now, had the advantage of being able to call on the collective information of the many, so could do in a fraction of the time what had taken the founders of the groups years to learn.  

Interestingly, even attorneys came to the group for help (family law matters). Of three who contacted me, only one stuck around, so to speak. He called from jail, where he was being held for contempt. He was able to regain his freedom based on a single page declaration, after being told what to do (establish he could not purge the contempt, converting it to a debtor's prison problem, killing the contempt based on a constitutional protection in The State of Washington).

Then there was the one in a hundred who made dealing with the complications worth while. The individual who saw the value of information being offered, took advantage of it, and started contributing his or her own information.

And there was the satisfaction of making Goliath (law firms, cities, counties and even IR agents) sorry for starting or backing something that did not go the way they thought it would. Instead, those dealing with arrogant agents were able to watch a corrupt private practice, which caused many harm, be destroyed, see twenty year careers of public agents abusing the public trust to bully citizens end, watch agents backed by public resources continue to break rules, but do it in favor of the private individual, in hopes they were not end their careers.

The Net was just starting out in those days. Web pages were for

HERE, NOW, a few decades later:

(1)Rather than reaching a mere few hundred, you're reaching thousands, all across the several, united states, the district and even in foreign countries where need for solutions, like you bring, arise.

(2) More will come here and to other, similar places, as their oxen get gored by rising heating costs, cooling costs, poor quality and expensive food, and shelter needs.

(3) Some, coming here, will bring new ideas and solutions to old and new problems;

(4) Some pupils will grow in their knowledge to exceed that of the teacher.

(5) All who share/teach will learn, and hold on to more by the very act of teaching and sharing.

(6) Many lives will be changed for the better, even if news of the fact never reaches the ears of those who built and frequent these pages.

(7) . . . .

________________________________
SIDE NOTE ON ITEM THREE:  

As noted, in posts above. many are hampered from growth by their circumstances and conditions.  However, solutions to problems found here are for many problems. For example, not just daily heating, but for emergency heating.

Solutions I've contemplated are, portability and camouflage:

(1) A rocket stove able to be moved, relatively, easily. This may mean a stove in sections that can be moved and latched together, in even of emergency, like that 20 below winter I, once got caught in with a disabled HVAC unit.

Years ago, I thought it might be worth considering building a wood stove on a fireproofed, small, fully enclosed trailer having an accordion rear that could attach to and cover a sliding glass door, for emergency heat.

(2) Wood storage masquerading as lawn decoration. For example, we live on a rock farm. Rocks and fencing can make for nice fencing, bird baths and so on. Thinner versions built around apple bins would hid them, and allow one to store enough wood to get through an emergency (dead furnace/HVAC or power outage).

(3) Fences that are really just trellises for HOA/city/county tolerated plants.

. . . .

Suppose you buy a cookbook that has a thousand recipes.  You browse the book and see six or seven that sound like they might be worth trying.  Someday.   And a few months later you try one.  


I feel the same way about "luxuriant environmentalism."  I would feel a lot better if a hundred million people just knew what a rocket mass heater is.  And maybe a lot of people will try it.  And maybe in ten years, people will pay more for a house that has one in it.

Leanne Opaskar wrote:As someone who lives in the suburbs, in a community with an HOA, and in an existing, fairly-large home

I feel that you can Build a Better World in your Backyard without doing any of those things.

https://permies.com/w/better-world

I would suggest that working with what you have will go a long way toward making the world a better place.

Here is another book that might offer some suggestions:

https://permies.com/wiki/143333/Edible-Yard-Crystal-Stevens

These threads have some examples:

https://permies.com/t/215118/Building-World-Day-Challenge

https://permies.com/wiki/109844/permaculture/Bricks-Build-World-Paul-Wheaton

https://permies.com/t/143914/Edible-Yard-Visited

paul wheaton wrote:I saw somebody on the internet advocate for planting trees to permaculture peeps and that person got shouted down.  I guess I wanna get the vibe that, in this case, it is a reflection of that particular community.  I hope that here on permies, we would be supportive of that person. . . and maybe reply with a kind word if you would support that person.

Absolutely, I would support that person. Especially after watching several Bill Mollison lectures on all the amazing things trees do. We need trees! Lots of trees.

I've seen a couple of interviews with people saying trees are over rated and planting more won't help anything. I don't know where that's coming from. It doesn't make sense. So, I'll keep on planting trees. And I'll keep on doing all the great stuff I'm learning here on Permies. I'd rather be doing than talking anyway.

Would I be de-railing this thread if I suggested that what is needed to solve the reaction on Reddit, is to improve literacy?

I admit, I don't understand how Reddit works, however, it appears that Person 1 wrote:

It feels so stupid...  

and Person 2 wrote:

If you think there's only one single solution to climate change and food shortages and that it's to plant more trees, then you shouldn't be calling other people stupid.

Wait - what??? Person 1 described a "feeling". He in *no* way accused anyone else of stupidity.

I expect someone with a reddit membership replying to Person 2's post with suggestions they need to upgrade their English written comprehension and grammar, would take that even more as if they're being called "stupid", even though there's also a huge difference between "stupidity" and "lack of experience, lack of education, lack of problem solving, etc" that may be quite different than simple stupidity.

As to the meaning *implied* by the post, personally, I feel that humans are badly behind the curve here. I personally don't believe that simple planting more trees with human edible products will get us out of the huge hole we've dug, if we don't also at least stop digging that hole deeper.

Sorry Leanne Opaskar, but I'm going to use your situation as an example:
1. Yes - HOA's are scary, and some of them are determined *not* to budge an inch, but sometimes scary world events (like a war that's impacting global wheat supplies) can get even stubborn people to allow exemptions. For example, a local HOA who's rules demanded either tile or cedar shake roofs, has allowed alternatives at the behest of the local Fire Department.  The area is considered a high risk for a fast-moving forest fire if weather such as we're having this summer is coupled with wind and someone causing a spark in the wrong place.
2. Clothesline - both my sister and I have hooks on the walls and very low tech "rope" which can be strung up for the day with little cost or fuss. I often try to do a load in the evening, hang it, by morning it's dry, and clothing and line get folded before breakfast. I do understand the need to hang indoors as there are months when my son is very reactive to certain pollens.
3. 2500 square foot home: that coupled with an HOA is a tough one. Here, the gov't is putting in rules giving home-owners the right despite the HOA rules, to build a secondary suite. This may or may not actually go through, but if it does it will both meet the need of people with mortgages an opportunity to raise extra money to pay down the mortgage, but also provide more housing for young people or seniors who are having difficulty finding rental space.
4. Elevated ceilings: they look wonderful. A friend bought a lovely home with a high ceiling in the combo kitchen/family room with all sorts of windows all the way up which faced south west. Totally inefficient both winter and summer and they eventually moved a few blocks over to an older home which had all 8 ft ceilings! She swore she'd never make that mistake again. I gather there are some climates where the ceiling part would be an asset, but I doubt there are many where the combo she had would be environmentally sound. But it LOOKED BEAUTIFUL and looking beautiful sells houses...
5. Community, and feeling a part of it is hugely important for mental health. I totally support you Leanne, despite using you as an example, in taking that vital importance and building on it! There are plenty of books about edible landscaping, and plenty of ideas on this site about how to take the house you have and creatively change it to be more environmentally sound on a budget. I believe you can do so if you keep an open mind and if you identify a problem you'd like to solve, please make a thread asking for ideas, because users on permies dot com, LOVE to problem solve and give whacky ideas when asked!

Just a reminder things have gotten worse but we do have STARS talking about permaculture now to fix Climate Change. The movie Kiss the Ground was narrated by Woody Harrelson and has lots of Stars in it. https://kissthegroundmovie.com/

paul wheaton wrote:

I saw somebody on the internet advocate for planting trees to permaculture peeps and that person got shouted down.  I guess I wanna get the vibe that, in this case, it is a reflection of that particular community.  I hope that here on permies, we would be supportive of that person. Please give a thumbs up for this post and maybe reply with a kind word if you would support that person.  

Unfortunately, I think that tree planting got a bad name after it became a consumer product- a carbon credit you could buy to feel less guilty about living a fossil fuel intensive lifestyle, or to gain social credit as a business.
I know that paying somebody else to plant a bunch of trees somewhere far away is not what this person was talking about. But that might be where many people’s minds went. If they were really thinking at all.

We are forgetting the value of trees. A short walk from where I'm living in South Korea, the whole south side of a small mountain has been cleared of trees and covered instead with solar panels to power the factory at the base. The greatest irony being that trees are the original solar power and do so much more. It's an incredible eyesore and a sign of very poor policy decisions by previous government.

"Plant more trees" sounds overly simple but the importance of trees is being forgotten，maybe it should be "protect the trees"?

On a side note, South Korea is ravaged by forest fires every spring, yet I see no signs of forest management. Trees were planted en mass after the war to reforest the hills, but without upkeep the dead trees, branches, and kudzu vines are dry kindling every spring. There's fire bans every year with dollars spent enforcing the bans, and seemingly none going to forest management. But workers will drive around cutting trees back from power lines and leave the branches in permanent dry brush piles at the edge of the road.  I don't get it.

K Kat wrote:We are forgetting the value of trees. A short walk from where I'm living in South Korea, the whole south side of a small mountain has been cleared of trees and covered instead with solar panels to power the factory at the base. The greatest irony being that trees are the original solar power and do so much more. It's an incredible eyesore and a sign of very poor policy decisions by previous government.

"Plant more trees" sounds overly simple but the importance of trees is being forgotten，maybe it should be "protect the trees"?

On a side note, South Korea is ravaged by forest fires every spring, yet I see no signs of forest management. Trees were planted en mass after the war to reforest the hills, but without upkeep the dead trees, branches, and kudzu vines are dry kindling every spring. There's fire bans every year with dollars spent enforcing the bans, and seemingly none going to forest management. But workers will drive around cutting trees back from power lines and leave the branches in permanent dry brush piles at the edge of the road.  I don't get it.

This is the story everywhere - complain complain complain about the issues that they themselves are causing while blaming (and fining) us, the little guy who seemingly has no say in how they manage things, even when what they're doing is clearly wrong. It's like a virus in the mindset of the "ruling class" out there. Hence the "being angry at bad guys" part of the story - there are so many reasons to be angry and so many bad guys to be angry at.

Paul's thread title says it all - "the solutions are simple". The solutions are definitely not as easy to implement in today's world as they should be, but they are still simple. There's no corporate mega-money in simple.

And I do shudder at the thought of adding any new law, prohibition or what have you to the books, even if it might seem like a nice idea at first. If we're not super careful about how these things are implemented, "protect the trees" quickly becomes prison sentences for things like chop and drop practices. It's already getting people fines in various places for planting so-called "invasive species" or digging ponds and swales in "protected habitat". Things have a habit of backfiring on us little people

Perhaps a better mantra should be "think critically before you act"?

You're right about well intentioned policies backfiring. Think critically is less specific and therefore avoids the problem of overgeneralization.

I don't want to just be a complainer, we are hoping to get our own land nearby next year, and I plan to research and do what I can to make the forests around us less flammable. But you have to be careful, because it's easy to get in trouble for doing such things yourself.

But the 72 bricks are such a great place to start there's a lot of little steps in the right direction and many of them are things that anyone can do and plenty more that I want to try!

As I see it, the interest in having forests is here to stay, and so is the interest in solar cells.  If you believe that it’s a choice between one or the other, I’d like to tell you about the potential advantages for using both together in a design known as “agrivoltaics”.  Is it pristine nature? no but it’s not clear cutting either. Is it as easy and cheap to install as plain solar, no probably not.  But here’s the benefit you get for making a slight compromise on each end. Solar electricity and plants on the same land.  Improved microclimate for all. Less drought-stress on plants, and presumably lower fire risk that typically goes along with lower drought stress. Healthier and more productive plants.  Fewer high voltage transmission lines needed. Now I’m not saying cover all the national forests with solar cells. But I am suggesting that if we’re going to have both trees and solar anyway, if there’s an advantageous synergy to be had there, why not make the most of it?  

Solar panels are covering more and more rooftops here. People are starting to install them over parking lots, and everyone loves that for shade in the summer. So it would make sense to install them over areas that are already paved or would benefit from shade. The largest paved area I can think of are all the highways and roadways, there's already power lines running alongside roads, what if panels be added into existing infrastructure? You can use current designs better if you can use them in ways that stack functions.

But I agree with you, solar power is not going anywhere yet, so we should be improving the design, and I think nature has a lot to teach us design wise. Like you said, why does it have to be either/or?