vsj1
Registered: January 2016 City/Town/Province: Nausori Posts: 6
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Importance of Planting Trees
As you can see behind me there are a lot of trees surrounding our compound.As we learned in third grade biology, trees are essential to life. They create the air we breathe and filter air pollution. Since our area has been flooded several times during cyclone seasons (November-April) we've seen a big improvement. As you may not know trees build soil and help soak up storm water before it can create a flood, and they offer energy-saving shade that reduces global warming and creates habitats for thousands of different species. Trees also help to reduce ozone levels in urban areas.
Most importantly, trees sequester carbon, helping to remove carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the air, which cools the earth. In fact, a mature canopy tree absorbs carbon to release enough oxygen to sustain two human beings!
The carbon storage capacity of forests is approximately three times as large as the pool of carbon in the atmosphere.If forests are changed, reduced or eliminated, the captured carbon goes into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
Despite their importance to life as we know it, humans have cut down half of all the trees on the planet so far. Every year we cut down over 50,000 square miles of forest worldwide for paper, agriculture, building materials and fuel. That's an area the size of the state of Alabama! Every year!
The carbon release for deforestation accounts for 25 to 30 percent of the four to five billion tons of carbon accumulating every year in the atmosphere from human activities.
Much of this wouldn't be necessary if we reduced, reused and recycled more, cultivated hemp for fuel and fiber, and use sustainable and recycled materials in all our buildings.But until this changes, we need to put back the trees in any way we can and as fast as we can!
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