Ouch...I'm pretty sure that radiocarbon dating only works -after- an organism dies. It's utterly useless to tell the age of a living tree. Not a good sign when the very first example used is just flat-out wrong.

Right.
http://archaeology.about.com/od/rterms/g/radiocarbon.htm

Definition:

Radiocarbon dating uses the amount of Carbon 14 (C14) available in living creatures as a measuring stick. All living things maintain a content of carbon 14 in equilibrium with that available in the atmosphere, right up to the moment of death. When an organism dies, the amount of C14 available within it begins to decay at a half life rate of 5730 years; i.e., it takes 5730 years for 1/2 of the C14 available in the organism to decay.

Comparing the amount of C14 in a dead organism to available levels in the atmosphere, produces an estimate of when that organism died. So, for example, if a tree was used as a support for a structure, the date that tree stopped living (i.e., when it was cut down) can be used to date the building's construction date.

Studies have indicated that the amount of carbon in the atmosphere has not remained constant, and beginning about 1500 BC, dates provided by radiocarbon are too recent. These dates become farther off the older the time is indicated. Calibration of radiocarbon dates to offset the error is accomplished by a fairly complicated set of formulas, but they primarily use comparison to dendrochronology dating referents.

Because of the rates of decay, radiocarbon dating is not useful for sites older than 50,000 years old. Archaeological sites older than that period must rely on alternative means of dating.

See the article on RCYBP for more information.

.

>> ^Stormsinger:
Ouch...I'm pretty sure that radiocarbon dating only works -after- an organism dies.

Define die.

A tree ring is functionally dead when the next ring starts to grow, only the bark of a tree is actively swapping carbon with the atmosphere, in essence only the bark is alive.

from http://www.radiocarbon.eu/carbon-dating-charcoal.htm
When radiocarbon dating a piece of wood or charcoal, the event dated is the growth of the tree ring. Trees grow by the addition of rings, and these rings stop exchanging carbon with the biosphere once they are laid down. Thus, the radiocarbon age of a single tree’s heartwood and sapwood will not be the same with the innermost heartwood being significantly older than the sapwood.

Hm, good video. Sounds like a freaking over pious tho

Admirable synopsis. Shame it neglects to speak to the audience it claims to. You know how to make your point to you. If you truly want to change things, consider the ways in which others think. Cultural evolution also takes time.