In the US PNW coast area Douglas Fir trees are harvested for lumber within about 30 years, plus or minus. Maybe the person you were talking to was considering the harvest of the tree to be the moment when the CO2 is "reclaimed"?
Wrt to when the tree pays off the carbon footprint generated by raising and planting the seedling, I guess it's less than three years.
Fun fact: Douglas Fir reach peak carbon fixation rate at about 120 years.
Green beans. My wife keeps growing different kinds of beans and I find myself yearning for the perfect green pods. Scarlet Runner was surprisingly fantastic last year, eaten green. This year she grew Yard Long beans and those were wonderful too.
I think it's interesting that so many are accepting that this is chaos. I get that it feels like chaos but I am seeing the predictable end of a political juggernaut and the inevitable realignment of the tectonic plates of Republican politics. Trump's influence is diminished as evidenced by the rejection of his choice for Speaker. Yet the party lacks an obvious successor. But nature abhors a vacuum including power vacuums so I feel certain an enterprising politician will emerge to take the reins and plot a new course for the Republicans.
or when someone gets the benefit of excellent medical care and thanks God for it. ugh. A lifetime of dedication by the doctors and scientists that brought you this cure? A distant second place.
On the other hand, it's our job to pick the best president and we majorly blew it. I can easily imagine RBG thinking "if they are dumb enough to elect this chode, they deserve what they get".