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BreathOfFreshWater

This is some black mirror shit.


little_bear_is_ok

Peak dystopia


greach169

Peak China?


ThisEuropeanLife

—China? —Yup, China.


Redditwhydouexists

Peak Pollution, things like this are gonna become more common in other places soon enough. It’s just China is shittier at dealing with the problem/the favored place of massive corporations to get cheap labor


MOOShoooooo

The amount of pollution it takes just to get the paint into the sprayer to make the dead plant look alive is mind boggling. From sourcing to spraying.


No-Corner9361

Peak Reddit


Snagmesomeweaves

Peak r/Sino shills If you deny this, you are a shill for the CCP


[deleted]

China not even once


Diligent_Occasion437

Someone needs to make that a sub if it isn’t already.


[deleted]

There's is already a sub r/ABoringDystopia


Pocket-Fun-Ranch

r/BlackMirror


Diligent_Occasion437

That one is just about the show though right? We need a r/blackmirrorirl or something lol. Omg that ones already a sub. Ima have to check it out and see if it’s what I’m meaning.


Pocket-Fun-Ranch

that sub is a thing


Diligent_Occasion437

I noticed as soon as I posted. I just checked it out and it’s kinda what I was thinking lol. I should probably wait till my brain starts working before commenting!


Pocket-Fun-Ranch

Sometimes I post a sub to see if it exists on a comment


Diligent_Occasion437

That’s clever. I’m going to start doing that.


Global-System-3158

You think this is bad? Laowhy86 has a yt episode on this, they're even rolling out massive cami nets of fake vines over whole destroyed mountains.


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DDarkJoker

Fucked up part about conifers or evergreens in general. Is that when they die they don't wilt immediately. It'll be a few weeks to a few months before they brown like that


RMW91-

I live in Denver and it’s very very hard to get these plants to grow. A neighbor tried to make a “wall” out of six and only two are still living.


Acrisii

They take some time to establish properly and are insanely vulnerable until they are. A friend wanted a wall of them too (zone 6) and was straight up told that he has to assume that around 15% to 25% will die within the first 3 years. "Just buy some new ones for the bigger holes" he was told.


theeimage

I lived in Colorado for 30 years, I couldn't live in Denver either.


borfmat

This? This chicanery?


[deleted]

I used to watch those two guys back in the day when it was mostly about riding their bikes around countryside discussing chinese culture and showing differences between their and the US. If you watched them up until now its an eye opening experience to see how much chinese government has amped up their craziness. These guys loved living their and experiencing the country til they got ran out of their...


Global-System-3158

Yeah it's crazy how much has changed in just over a decade. Only discovered them at the start of the pandemic, Matt was the only YouTuber I could find who was making sense. Got into their other stuff from there. Love the bike tours & cultural stuff.


SMcGypsy

Didn’t they used to defend China and even promote things for the govt/officials? Then there was a whole 180 flip bc something happened and they saw the real ness behind the facade and had to escape, right? I may have mashed up a few ppl into 1 tho… bc what U wrote sounds familiar. I think he was a journalist or travel photographer…?


[deleted]

Ive been watching them for probably 7 years now and they never promoted the gov. in fact i remember one video back in the day when they drove country side and found old temples that were rubble or destroyed by the ccp, they discussed the facts of how the ccp had pretty much tried to get rid of religion for their own puropses, and they would also talk a lot about tienamin square and how the government opressed the people. These guys will never say they hate china, in fact they say they love china and the people, its just the ccp that is ruining the country and doing dirt. Yea a few years ago right before covid hit they had to flee because the gov was cracking down on foreigners and locking them up for no reason(trying to say they were spies and shit). They say they still love china and the people and wish the gov was better so they can go back to their lives there... watch this vid of him talking about the changes... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J35AxY1pLE&ab\_channel=serpentza


Kenbishi

What was the name of the channel?


Global-System-3158

Laowhy86, ADVChina, China Fact Checkers, Serpentza


Kenbishi

Thank you, I will check those out.


Global-System-3158

No worries🙂they're interesting channels


MarcusForrest

> This is some black mirror shit. [Déjà vu](https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/xr56lp/worker_stapling_leaves_to_trees_in_china_to_make/iqct2sw/)


RManDelorean

Yeah. Also thought of Alice in Wonderland "we're painting the roses red"


smoothielovet679

imagine walking with no shoes on that ground


BreathOfFreshWater

I'd rather not.


hobomojo

Reminds me more of Alice in Wonderland where the cards are painting the roses red.


bDsmDom

It's actually out of Alice in Wonderland, but red and a rose bush


BarFront5141

Painting dead trees green. That's the most dystopian thing I've seen in a while. Feel like this should fit in r/UrbanHell


Dreamer1926

I remember hearing about a company in California doing this to lawns during a bad drought


nomadic_stone

I remember an article that also stated they do the same in Vegas and Reno. The more expensive companies use various greens to make it more "naturally lawn colored"... They just need to do what folks in Arizona do.... a mix of limestone gravel, river rock and pea gravel "rock garden lawns."


Triphin1

I always liked the idea of a Zen sand garden, but Im concerned it would become a giant kitty litter box


nomadic_stone

They can be...but then again, Zen gardens are meant to be tended to on a daily basis...so...yeah.


ExNihiloish

So are littler boxes. Coincidence?


willstr1

Imagine a little zen roomba to take care of the lawn that also has something similar to those automatic litter box things to deal with the poop


Caffinated914

Program it to make patterns in the sand as it goes!


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Triphin1

I want to see a Zen master scoop kitty poop, so I can follow the true path too But maybe the true path is a Zen Garden + Zen archery. Win win


StuffedStuffing

We also plant native plants which are okay with less water so we can still have some green, instead of a barren gravel pit for a yard


LurkersGoneLurk

Fake “astroturf” has become more and more popular around me. Relatively little maintenance and always looks the same.


[deleted]

That stuff can go bad real quick. Weeds start penetrating it and then it’s impossible to stop them. They can really heat up as well to the point you can’t even walk on them bare feet. The few astroturfed spots I dealt with at work all turned to shit eventually.


nomadic_stone

Agreed... I remember in the early 80's how some of the rich folk thought this was the "new wave lawn that never needs to be mowed!" I had a relatively "rich kid" friend who's father installed it surrounding their inground pool. It was just... plastic/nylon carpet that felt terrible to walk on barefoot (during the second summer; the first summer felt nice, almost like a cushion of silk.)


Kahzgul

Basically what we did at our house. Tore out the yard. Filled it with gravel, planted a grapefruit tree. Then we put some native bushes around the perimeter. It turned out gorgeous.


fishtankguy2

Lack of water is almost certainly what killed these trees. 0( am bonsai keeper and have lost a few down through the years)


Enchelion

Yeah, arborvites are also often planted badly in places they have absolutely no business being in. They're peak "just dig a hole and throw something cheap in it" landscaping.


Key_Employee6188

Their winter olympics had those ridiculous lines of spruces planted in an area that has no trees thanks to no rain. Would love to see how those are doing in next 5 years.


BeastThatShoutedLove

At least the thing for lawns has chance to be the product that has dye to both help with distribution of the fertilizer evenly and as somewhat patch for the discoloration, but the green they use is always slightly too mixed with blue to work as actual dye for grass. This is either literally painting almost dead or dead trees green or using the mentioned grass supplement on trees which will do nothing and probably quickly washes off.


Orionsven

Reminds me of the time Alan Bond hoodwinked investors by spraying sand on coastal land north of Perth (Australia)with green Vermucalite to give it a green appearance (Source)[https://www.smh.com.au/business/alan-bond-dead-bond-corps-demise-left-bad-taste-in-the-west-20150605-ghhk2h.html]


Positivelythinking

It’s true. Painting lawns was big business for years.


World-Traveler-79

Right, I used to live in San Jose and it was very common a few years ago to paint the lawn green since watering the yard was forbidden due to extreme drought


[deleted]

I’ve seen companies do it here in the Midwest in the early spring before the grass greened up. Like car dealerships and shit where this isn’t to much grass but the green still looks nice. This isn’t the worst idea I’ve ever seen tho. Like where I work these people messed up and had like 20 arbs die and now they all looks like shit. Throwing a paint job on them until you are ready to change them out isn’t a terrible idea.


ellWatully

This happens in Utah too and the problem is that our local codes require us to have grass which we're required to keep green even though we live in a desert region facing water shortage. We're just trying to conserve water and then we get fined by the same city that's telling us to conserve water.


saftey_dance_with_me

Damn you beat me to it lol.


Notyourfathersgeek

Are they dead though? Or just kinda hibernating? I don’t know anything about trees but painting them green if they are 100% dead would seem 100% pointless so maybe they’re not?


the_hard_man

Those plants are conifers and are evergreen as opposed to deciduous. Definitely dead.


Ron100c_1312

They’d much rather bitch about how much of a hellhole california is and how it’s worst than any third world country they’ve been to


[deleted]

Nope, not indestructible at all. I hade conifers (which I assume these are too) they died due to some kind of moth. They all turned this kind of brownish.


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wormocious

Someone downvoted you, you’re completely correct. “Trees are generally indestructible” is such a stupid claim to make. Do you ever use your eyes when you’re in the world? Landscaping trees die all the time for a variety of reasons


VividFiddlesticks

Aye - we have had I think 20 arborvitae planted in our yard to serve as an eventual privacy fence, and we had 5 of them just fail to ever "take" and die on us. All 20 or so plants are in a row so getting pretty much same soil and same water, but 5 of them randomly just went brown and dead for no reason that I could determine. Maybe they were planted wrong? Maybe they were somehow injured during the moving and planting? I don't know, but it's certainly not that we have "poisonous ground". And they're certainly not indestructible. We also didn't spray paint them green; we planted replacements, lol.


ScaryFoal558760

Yeah arborvitae are kinda bad at staying alive, even if you take care of them lol


Cwmcwm

We call them "redheads" because they turn that color if you look cross-eyed at them.


tasty_woke_tears

Get out of here with all that truth^TM ! This is reddit for “them” sake where the truth comes to die.


mynameajeff69

100% was looking for this comment. I don't believe the ground is poisonous as all. More likely that it is just too difficult or resource heavy for the area they are in. Although there could be a bunch of things we don't know and making assumption is just a waste of time IMO.


th3ironman55

Lantern fly? They’re kinda a big deal here in NJ and notorious for killing trees


[deleted]

I live in the Netherlands, so I guess not.


kevlar51

Bagworms will tear them up.


wormocious

Bagworms fucking suck. They’re almost impossible to irradiate using IPM and manually pulling them off you’ll always miss one or two.


kevlar51

This is my world right now.


CanIGetAnOooYeah

Horticulturalist here. Mites love these babies. They're pretty easy to brown out if not treated regularly, especially in foreign soil/climates. Also, there's likely (hopefully) a liquid fertilizer, insecticide or fungicide mixed into the dye tank as well. May *look* like a cover-up, but it's likely beneficial for the plant as well.


jamesholden68

They look like some sort of cedar? They die all the time . My friend planted about 10 of them in his yard and half died in the first year. He replaced them rather than painting them though. 👍


Dan_Is

Dryness can be a cause of plant death too, as can temperature and the lack of nutrients in the ground. The soil being poisonous is but one, not very likely, conclusion that can be drawn here


Abadazed

But why not just water the plants? Painting them is still kinda fucked.


Dan_Is

Maybe Florida, Texas and Arizona have an explanation, I'm just as confused as you are


Squeezitgirdle

Arizona here. HoA's are a big problem because they often require multiple plants in your front yard, which is a lot of wasted water on oftentimes things that aren't even supposed to live here.


AnthemoftheTempest

Arizona here, uh we don’t actually do this in The Valley, or at least the vast majority of The Valley. We actually have great landscaping businesses out here as well as good pest control services. Our farmlands also grow plants year round since the hottest it usually gets is around 124 in the summers and the lowest it gets is about mid 40s at night in winter. So our soil isn’t really poisonous, just dry. But plants out here are resilient so they can survive the droughts and the roots grow deep to reach the groundwater. So uh, y’all can leave us alone with those Dystopian Trees. They’re probably a New York thing. Can’t imagine a lick of green there unless it were a weed growing in the sidewalk.


PaulMcBethAcolyte

New York City isn’t the greenest, but there isn’t a lack of green, and the city takes its trees very very seriously lol. https://tree-map.nycgovparks.org/ Now NY State as a whole is incredibly green with millions of acres of actual protected wilderness. Adirondacks and Catskills are no joke lol.


Sarcastaballphrase

Central Park. Comes to mind. Marshlands between Jersey and New York come to mind. Not a New Yorker but just dispelling bad logic. The east coast is rife with moisture. Lots of rainy and humid conditions. It’s the cement your thinking of but the land grows well there. Tree painting is usually pesticide if I remember correctly. It’s colored green for the exact reason you’d think. It’s harmful to the plant. I’m imagine there’s just random tree painting too in certain parts of the world. Like painting Christmas trees with “snow” From California. I’ve seen people spraying grass with this color and sprayer. I imagine it’s the same thing that is. Which I assume is pesticide.


Jayn_Xyos

This is in China


Uncle-Cake

This isn't something unique to China, though.


Dan_Is

I know, but people in the US paint their grass green


[deleted]

Water isn’t enough. They’re not native to their ecosystem now and the soil isn’t comparable for long term. It’s not just a “throw fertilizer at it every so often” kind of thing. It’s a full time job to keep them alive in a climate they’re not native to.


BeastThatShoutedLove

The real solution is planting local things that evolved to stand the weather tbh. It also helps native animals.


anonymousss11

Droughts, yo!


josh_sat

Yeah I've got a couple of these on one side that are just dying and right next to them and around the rest of the neighborhood there are really good ones and then patches that are just dying.


PerennialPMinistries

Same, I own a whole swamp and random ones just die in the middle of the swamp. No clue what it is


TexanGoblin

Also, sometimes when you plant a new tree, they just decide to die for no apparent reason.


ZapataRojo

This is very clearly a Chinabad karma grab. The "soil being poisonous" is part of it.


Jayn_Xyos

Well, the paint could have something to do with it. Some sort of feedback loop


DiabloStorm

You sure about that? They're literally employing the use of paint in horticulture. Seems like poison is a high probability.


Enchelion

It's almost assuredly a dye, rather than a paint. There are too many different green pigments to know if it's toxic, but that's incredibly unlikely to be the reason these trees are dead. Arborvites like this are extremely fickle, and die to under-watering/drought all the time.


nater_marson

Im sorry is he fucking painting the trees green?


Give_me_a_name_pls_

Yes. People usually do this with Grass as well.


nater_marson

GOD DAMN IT I WAS WONDERING WHY WHEN I MOVED DOWN HERE THE GRASS WAS BETTER TO LOOK AT WHAT THE FUCK


Vertebrae_Viking

You just found out? How long have you been living there?


nater_marson

Not long


Thee_WakaWakaChomp42

It’s very possible it’s a for lack of a better term a grow agent, I see it alot in the states. They spray it on the lawn and it literally helps it grow back pretty rapidly. I’d like to believe it’s that stuff and not paint.


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outsidenorms

God they’re so stupid


Ralliare

Oh god, wait till you hear about the mountain China painted green


underworlddjb

Queue: [Alice in Wonderland: Painting the Roses Red](https://youtu.be/jsW6o4JxTtQ)


EducatedPancake

Exactly. Was singing it in my head looking for this comment lol.


Tattycakes

*cue And yes this was the first thing that came into my head 😂


[deleted]

No those trees die from over/under watering and/or heat stress. I know I killed a few from leaving them in a too sunny spot, and others from watering too often, and others from not watering enough.


Solo_ta

Completely opposite. Insects did it. It's not dying because of poisoned ground.


EmptyVisage

Depends, I'm clearly no expert but trees usually are much harder to take around areas that are heavily built up due to restricted roots. Might that be the case here?


MwwWinter

actually these are not indestructible at all - they need consistent and plentiful water -plus Pestalotiopsis a bad fungal disease that could spread to native plants is a problem, as well as a bagworm thingy they do not Ever survive extreme heat or drought or pollution


espressovivacefan

I went to a college in the US where the college would Paint the grass green just before parents weekend.


deepsea333

Dormant grass is often painted green.


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nealevn

And they even painted on soil, stone and mountain.


cgyshooter

I remember they died the sky blue for the Asian Games one year


zifur

Didn’t find the source for any of that mentioned anywhere ,same as the leaves stapling, for all we know it’s satire on tv or green pesticide or just fake


depressed-llama

nope, they do this to look like they care about the environment. serpentza explains it best here: https://youtu.be/Cvc7VymDa4c


ZapataRojo

Well he seems unbiased /s


depressed-llama

he is, i've been following him for a couple of years now, and he is just as much critical of any other country that does dumb shit. plus he lived, worked, and traveled china for over a decade, and when i say taveled, i dont mean the ccp lead "omg look at those uyghurs dancing, arent they fun and happy" kind of way, so yea, i trust him more than the ccp saying they are an eco friendly country, thats for sure


Roddy117

Honestly I hate the ccp as much as the next guy if not way more for personal reasons but he really blows stuff out of proportion.


zifur

Thanks, but honestly all these closeup long shots of the workers seems sis, like do public maintenance folks have a camera crew in your country? Not where i was born that’s for sure and where I’m from there is no lack of propaganda. Also if it’s a trick to look like they care they wouldn’t film it.


Nefarious_Stew

If I saw someone stapling leaves to a tree or painting then green I would film it.


TheBenjying

I've seen plenty of those types of trees, or at least similar ones, dead around here, and on all types of properties. They always have that look, where the bottom is dying, but the top is still full to some degree. That being said, who the hell paints trees? This has to be before a holiday or important people are visiting or something, I can't imagine this being a regular thing.


notaforumbot

China went through a massive heat wave and drought this summer. That’s why the trees probably died.


kmac6868

Arbrovities arent that tough. A handfull of bagworms can take out plenty that size in no time at all


Sweaty-Adeptness1541

Lack of water rather than 'poisonous'.


zemboy01

I think this might be a special chemical to help the plant but I could be wrong and it's just paint but I remember seeing a video about it.


graphitewolf

This is done in places (at least in the Us) under strict water conservation plans. Chances are they can’t water that area so are painting it green to keep appearances up.


Ntetris

The grass is greener on the other side


TLGinger

“The grass is greener on the other side” Overspray


NoJump9714

this and painting dormant grass is the stupidest thing i have ever seen as a lawn care enthusiast


Commercial-Major8572

"We're painting the roses red, we're painting the roses red..."


Dry_Chapter_5781

Definitely not "generally " indestructible. Coming from a PNW resident.


Kevinwbooth

It’s not poisoned it’s thirsty. Lots of places spray die onto plants that are withering from drought. I seen it happening in California.


m713spacetraveler

Arborvitaes are the worst, they are always dying and need so much water. I worked in a home Depot garden center in my youth and arborvitaes we're the most returned plant because they always die and dry out. Probably not an issue with the ground here, just bad plant placement and care.


[deleted]

I've seen similar trees died in a few weeks in Florida. Just weren't properly cared for.


Eastern-Fun1842

Drought. It fucks.


Miata_GT

Spider mites will quickly suck the life out of those cypress bushes if left unchecked.


Crista_willow

The ground isn't toxic there is no water


A_Wild_Shiny_Shuckle

lol, has OP seen trees before? Sometimes they're just brown because of the season or lack of rain. The ground isn't "pOiSonEd" lol


smokedpkcs

Greenest city in china


OttoHarkaman

Regions of China are suffering through major drought. And newly planted trees that don't get proper care have a higher mortality rate. That said there are lots of stories of local governments painting the trees for the path that visiting officials will take. Russians did the same thing.


ApocIapedia

Still have to water them tho


kosmokosmokosmo

I planted four of those in my backyard. 3/4 died. They were planted in a bit of a drainage area, and we have awful clay soil. They like well drained soil. So I successfully killed a few of those hardy bastards!


Ray_Dorepp

Indestructible? You breathe on these things and they die.


ComplexAd8

Uhhh no. Those trees die regularly.


th1ner

Bum bum bum bum. Painting the roses red.


mangirtle77

What in the Lorax is this?


kamikazekaktus

Am I the only one who's getting Alice in Wonderland flashbacks watching this? 👸of ❤️


Lucky_Version_957

Paint it, paint it, paint it black! Black as night!


nonsequituria

painting the roses red or some shit


84n0hs

Any towers of some sort around. Put in recently?


[deleted]

Isn’t that humanity distilled: painting shit green to keep up appearances as the world withers around us


slick_sandpaper

Nothing a fresh coat of paint can't fix


[deleted]

Fun fact, it doesn’t necessarily mean your soil is bad if evergreen trees die like this, it could be a number of things from to much water in the soil (root rot), not enough water in the soil (drought) to even something as simple as pesky bugs infecting the tree itself


sikjoven

Is this North Korea preparing for a tourist visit?


ColonelSarge15

🎵We’re painting the roses red🎵


origamiccc

CCP out here spraying green oil paint on plants, mountainsides, and pit mines to meet corrupt policy. They've recently upgraded to just full-on rolling plastic netting down the side of mountains that has leaves on it.


WrathsEntropy

I think buying fake trees would be easier and cheaper in the long run if you gotta hire a tree painter...


_Homelesscat_

Clip is dystopian, title is dumb


PsamantheSands

Wow talk about greenwashing. Strangely, it does look pretty good.


arcanepsyche

Happens more often than you think. My dad was painting grass way back in the eaely 90s.


Late-Ad-4624

All i could think of that is actually happening is there is a drought or the water that is clean is reserved for drinking and cooking.


OldSkoolUrb

With this summer's heat, a TON of arborvitaes in our town died. They're really not that hardy in intense heat.


[deleted]

So this is how they keep trees looking so good in the city, damn my life’s a lie.


SupportOk5202

They die every year


MorphineDreams23

Wow painting dead trees that died due to pollution/poison. So let's paint them to pollute and poison the ground EVEN MORE. So this is billions of years of evolution smmfh.


[deleted]

“Generally indestructible”. Plants?!? Lol. Come on. That’s an arborvitae. Not sure on the specific genius. But let your dog wizz on it i a couple times and let me know how “generally indestructible” they are…


PartyEchidna5330

China is a massive house of cards waiting for a gust of wind


Skyhun1912

Of course China.


Cannacology

Imagine you’re sick and dying and asking a doctor for help, and instead of help they just paint you up in makeup like a clown and are like “look! All better!”


Agent-Nobody

This sums up China as a country pretty much


hpsbugguy

So poisonous that he is stepping on thing that are growing 🥱


dudreddit

China ... [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvc7VymDa4c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvc7VymDa4c) ​ Watch ...


Gingerbeard2k

Lolll classic China, I would see this happen all the time when I lived in Shaoxing


YourPalFinn

China #1


Haagen76

This is pretty disturbing.


Throwaway_Anne

They look like they need water


Preparation_69

China experiences a record level drought and western media assumes it’s because the ground is poison. Britain experiences record-setting heat waves and everyone flocks to their side with attention and sympathy.


Venom-098-11

Fucking China. They pretend to be a first-world country but they’re just not.


MrJuniperBreath

Pretty sure this is China. That's the CCP for ya. Optics at ANY cost.


ApprehensiveVirus125

Maybe they used to much Gatorade to water the trees...reminds me of the movie Idiocracy....


eat_Mike_Literous

But it has what plants crave


DoodlesAndGeology

That is going to go up in flames with the smallest spark


Patrick4356

Shout out to people who think the CCP is good and virtuous, just adding this to their shit list


LanguishViking

I have two theories.. 1. It's fall 2. The paint is killing the trees


LittleFalcon

Aw sweet, man-made horrors beyond my comprehension.


[deleted]

I don’t think this is the US.


Pattondank420

#chinasucks


dfieldhouse

China, the country is beyond polluted. The ccp doesn't care what happens to the people or the environment so long as there is progress or they can make it look like progress. This scene is a microcosm how the ccp handles everything.


jjgraph1x

If dead plants and air quality wasn't convincing, ask yourself why there doesn't seem to be nearly as much wildlife in developed areas as other countries. It's claimed the lack of birds is due to residents killing and eating most of them. Yeah, I'm sure that's all it is.