“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
Chinese Proverb
Although I’m passionate about climate change, I’m not what you would call a “tree hugger”. Still, our leafy friends are miraculous. As Shel Silverstein poetically described, they are gifts that keep giving. On top of their other superpowers, here are three ways trees help with climate change.
3 ways trees help with climate change
Absorb Carbon Dioxide
Let’s take a trip back to elementary school science for just a second. Trees pull CO2 from the air through photosynthesis, and store it in their leaves, trunks, and roots. This is why forests are carbon sinks. Rainforests are so vital to cleaning our air they are called the “lungs of the planet”. In the US, our forests absorb around 12% of the CO2 we emit each year.
On the flip side, deforestation is igniting climate change. Cutting down trees not only takes away their ability to pull CO2 from the air, it also releases stored CO2 back into the atmosphere. The larger the tree, the more CO2 it holds, so protecting old growth forests is a priority.
Since 1990, the world has lost about a billion acres of forest. And over the last 50 years, a whopping 17% of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed. We can’t get to net-zero without protecting existing forests and reforestation.
Regulate temperature
Cities are urban heat islands, because the pavement and buildings absorb heat. Spending time in an urban area on a hot day feels like roasting in an oven. Planting trees in cities actually decreases the air temperature by 10 degrees! Not only do they add beauty, but urban trees can reduce heat-related illness and cut energy use. As the climate warms, trees can help urban areas adapt.
Conserve water and soil
Trees help absorb water during heavy rain, then store it to prevent drought. In California, we’ve been witnessing what can happen when forests are destroyed. The increase in forest fires has made the region more vulnerable to mudslides and flooding. Ironically, the risk of drought and fires will also be high, because the water is running off, instead being absorbed into the ground. Protecting forests can help stop this feedback loop.
The bottom line
Deforestation is such a big contributor to climate change that if it were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Said another way, deforestation adds as much CO2 into the air as all the cars and trucks around the world combined! This is why protecting trees and planting more is such a high priority to solve climate change.
What can we do?
- Plant a tree
- Get involved with a local organization in your community like this one in mine
- Cut back on paper towels by using sustainable options like this (I am not being paid, I just like them)
- Give cloth napkins a try
- Try sustainable toilet paper – I resisted for a long time but it’s honestly not bad!
- Do some research before cutting down trees on your property
- Support an organization working on forest conservation
Let’s do something about climate change. Learn about it. Think about it. Talk about it.