Climate change is a reality we can no longer ignore.
A poll conducted last year by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication revealed that 62 percent of Americans now believe that, “global warming is caused mostly by human activities”.
That number represents a 15 percent increase from just five years earlier.
While it’s easy to dismiss the results above as nothing more than hearsay, in an April 2019 article posted on USAToday.com, a new study released this February concluded there’s a 99.9999 percent chance that humans have in fact caused global warming. Even climate-change cynics will have a hard time arguing with that.
As the subject of climate change continues to permeate throughout conversations in The White House and in your own house, possible solutions to help reverse the harmful effects are plentiful from reducing emissions to supporting more organic and sustainable farming.
But perhaps one of the easiest solutions can be found (and accomplished) in your own back yard – plant more trees.
Here are just some of the ways trees fight the fight against climate change in your backyard and in your communities:
- Trees can help protect coastal areas. Trees can actually help slow the water’s strength as it surges on land, thus sparing many communities from severe flooding. Additionally, trees can absorb excess water in the soil and release it as water vapors into the air.
- Trees absorb carbon and other gases. A single, mature tree can actually absorb 48 pounds of carbon per year – that’s enough clean oxygen for four people to breathe fresh, clean air!
- When fully leafed out, trees help soil retain moisture rather than drying out to better support soil fertility. More shade and less sun also help reduce energy consumption during the heat of the summer, helping to further reduce emissions.
- Trees are anchor points for plant and wildlife biodiversity – helping to create healthy new ecosystems in nature.
Francois Hollande, the President of the French Republic once remarked, “The time is past when humankind thought it could selfishly draw on exhaustible resources. We know now that the world is not a commodity.”
So, get outside and spend a weekend planting a few trees on your property. Besides being beautiful to look at and fulfilling to nurture, you’ll be doing your part to fight climate change.
For more information on caring for your trees and landscape, contact SavATree today!
