Trees can save the world? Yes, read on to find out why.

To quote ColoradoTrees.org: "Aside from the obvious aesthetic benefits, trees within our urban forest improve our air, protect our water, save energy, and improve economic sustainability."

That quote pretty much sums up why trees are so important. The other benefits include providing food and increasing property values. 

Here is a list of that should prove how I have come to the conclusion that trees are the most important thing you can do to go green and protect the environment. All quotes are from ColoradoTrees.org from the research the organization has done in regards to the value of the urban forests:

"If every American family planted just one tree, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would be reduced by one billion lbs annually. This is almost 5% of the amount that human activity pumps into the atmosphere each year.

One tree that shades your home in the city will also save fossil fuel, cutting CO2 buildup as much as 15 forest trees.

Planting trees remains one of the cheapest, most effective means of drawing excess CO2 from the atmosphere.

Over a 50-year lifetime, a tree generates $31,250 worth of oxygen, provides $62,000 worth of air pollution control, recycles $37,500 worth of water, and controls $31,250 worth of soil erosion.

One sugar maple (12" DBH) along a roadway removes in one growing season 60mg cadmium, 140 mg chromium, 820 mg nickel, and 5200 mg lead from the environment.

Each person in the U.S. generates approximately 2.3 tons of CO2 each year. A healthy tree stores about 13 pounds of carbon annually -- or 2.6 tons per acre each year. An acre of trees absorbs enough CO2 over one year to equal the amount produced by driving a car 26,000 miles. An estimate of carbon emitted per vehicle mile is between 0.88 lb. CO2/mi. – 1.06 lb. CO2/mi. (Nowak, 1993). Thus, a car driven 26,000 miles will emit between 22,880 lbs CO2 and 27,647 lbs. CO2. Thus, one acre of tree cover in Brooklyn can compensate for automobile fuel use equivalent to driving a car between 7,200 and 8,700 miles.

Trees also reduce the greenhouse effect by shading our homes and office buildings. This reduces air conditioning needs up to 30%, thereby reducing the amount of fossil fuels burned to produce electricity. This combination of CO2 removal from the atmosphere, carbon storage in wood, and the cooling effect makes trees a very efficient tool in fighting the greenhouse effect.

A total of 300 trees can counter balance the amount of pollution one person produces in a lifetime."

Now imagine if everyone planted just one tree how much air pollution, soil erosion, and heat could be prevented. And, that's just inside a city!

If we reforested the land, global warming could be stopped without creating additional pollution. And, that makes planting trees the most important thing you can do to go green!
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Marilyn's Urban Forest
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