Plant-A-Tree-For-Clean-Air
Trees are among the oldest living organisms on earth. They also play an important roll in making life possible for us here on earth. Trees actually help purify the air and an acre of trees can absorb as much CO2 in one year as produced by a car driven 8,700 miles.
As an asthmatic living in an urban area I find this particular point to be of interest. Efforts to green our urban areas by planting more trees can help clean the air of the CO2 and toxins produced by cars and industry. Trees also have other benefits as well:
- Trees keep our air supply fresh by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen.
- In one year, an acre of trees can absorb as much carbon as is produced by a car driven up to 8700 miles.
- Trees provide shade and shelter, reducing yearly heating and cooling costs by 2.1 billion dollars.
- Trees lower air temperature by evaporating water in their leaves.
- The average tree in metropolitan area survives only about 8 years!
- A tree does not reach its most productive stage of carbon storage for about 10 years.
- Trees cut down noise pollution by acting as sound barriers.
- Tree roots stabilize the soil and prevent erosion.
- Trees improve water quality by slowing and filtering rain water as well as protecting aquifers and watersheds.
- Trees provide protection from downward fall of rain, sleet, and hail as well as reduce storm run-off and the possibility of flooding,
- Trees provide food and shelter for wildlife.
- Trees located along streets act as a glare and reflection control.
- The death of one 70-year old tree would return over three tons of carbon to the atmosphere.
{Source: www.treesaregood.org }
Granted, planting trees is not the entirety of the solution to our urban air quality issues. But in a country where people seem loathe to curtail their driving planting trees can be one step towards cleaner air. It is also something each person can do towards being better stewards of the planet we live on.
Today Asthma is the most common chronic ailment among children and it has become the number one reason that children are absent from school each year. This fact alone should be cause for each one us to stop and consider what we are doing to our environment. We are literally rendering our urban areas uninhabitable by making them so toxic. In addition to the increase in respiratory ailments, which asthma is only one, we may find out that other problems such as autism, retardation and birth defects may be impacted by the toxicity of our air and water.[1]
Many debunkers of the global warming/green house gas crises in like to cynically point out that even if everyone us were to stop driving our cars today it would take something close to 200 years before the CO2 that we are pumping into the air would finally deplete.
My response to that is: So what?
This does not give us the right to continue poisoning our air or our water. We still have a responsibility for the way we use our resources. We still have a responsibility for the future generations that will inherit the earth we leave behind, our children and our grandchildren.
We may not be able to resolve the entire greenhouse gas problem created by humanity. That isn’t my intention or my proposal. I propose that we work in our local areas to make the places we live in more inhabitable.
Planting trees may seem like a fruitless or even silly way to go about this. Who knows…maybe it is. But it is something each us can do. Imagine what the positive effects would be if everyone in your neighborhood planted at least one tree a year to help offset their contribution to CO2. It won’t solve the problem in its entirety to be sure. But it will make the areas you live in more habitable.
On November 2 of last year we lost my father to Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, another deadly respiratory ailment that experts are seeing as being on the rise. Interestingly National Jewish, one of our countries leading respiratory health care organizations reports that not only is it on the rise it seems to be hitting women the hardest.
My father never smoked nor was he employed in some of the traditional occupations such as baking or mining in which you might expect a person suffering from Pulmonary Fibrosis to have worked. The term idiopathic speaks to this. The doctors were unable to determine what was causing it.
Global Warming may seem like a huge thing to fight. But we need to for no other reason than the health and quality of the lives of the people we love are at stake. If for no other reason than the simple fact that human life requires clean air and clean water to survive should be the only call to action anyone of us actually needs.
Over the course of the next few weeks we will be unveiling a Plant-A-Tree for Clean Air program. The general goal is to raise money to purchase trees for planting in specific areas and to encourage people to buy them for their own yards, properties or special projects. The proceeds of the money raised will go to supporting tree planting programs and to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. We are also considering other worthy causes as well.
For more information please email me at Plant-A-Tree For Clean Air: More Information
[1] This is not a scientific statement. I have no facts or data to back this up. I am just speculating. But do you really need any more reason to realize that poisoning our environment is not good for us?