Climate change and global warming: We experience them every day.
The increase in severe weather, the droughts, and the melting ice are all
symptoms of a worldwide illness. I recently read an article discussing the causes
of alarming global warming. This article states, "Human activity has
rapidly increased the emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
Since
the start of the Industrial Revolution, human activities such as burning
fossil fuels, including coal and oil, have increased greenhouse gas concentrations
in our atmosphere."
The article did not specify the number of factories and
cities constructed during the Industrial Revolution. Building the factories and
towns required the consumption of acres of trees to clear the land and make the
needed housing. Transporting goods and people led to the need for roads and
railroads. While removing trees to clear land for agriculture increased the use of fossil fuels, a few
remaining trees (air filters) could combat the warming effects of these greenhouse
gases.
There is always cause and effect. The reason is deforestation and the increased use of fossil fuels. The effect is
global warming or planetary destruction. There is a reasonable, cost-effective
method to reduce carbon dioxide using this simple cause-and-effect model. The technique
is how our planet developed the life-sustaining air we need to exist.
Trees are natural air purifiers that use a process called
photosynthesis. During this process, leaves pull in carbon dioxide and water
and use the sun's energy to convert this into chemical compounds such as sugars
that feed the tree. But as a by-product of that chemical reaction, oxygen is
produced and released by the tree.
Governments spend
billions of dollars seeking to control carbon emissions and develop
alternative energy sources. Carbon-capture plants capture and bury carbon
dioxide. But these plants do nothing to release breathable oxygen back to
nature.
Iceland introduced
the world's largest
carbon-cleaning plant, claiming it will remove 3,600 metric tons, or
7,936,632 pounds, per year. About 15 plants are in operation. It is excellent
to remove carbon dioxide from the air; it is better to install an efficient air
filter that removes it and returns clean air. Achieving this is
simple and rewarding. 165,347 mature trees can achieve the same air
purification. One tree removes
48 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air and returns breathable oxygen.
The funding from the federal and state governments would be
better used to reforest cities, develop incentives for builders to avoid razing land before building homes and business sites, and remove blighted
city areas, replacing these areas with trees.
Reforesting is not a novel idea. China, the top
polluter of carbon dioxide, launched a reforestation project in 1999 to
address the environmental damage caused by its industrial growth. China has spent
upward of 100 billion dollars, benefiting
crops, controlling, in part, carbon dioxide emissions, and raising
forest coverage to about a quarter of China's total land.
In the U.S., combating the degradation and rising crime in blighted
urban neighborhoods could be better served by removing abandoned buildings and
replacing them with trees. Many communities have pockets of blight, a breeding
ground for drugs, crime, and despair. Replacing these areas with trees would
improve living conditions and create an environment of hope and a future. One
acre of blight can hold 80-120 trees and remove 3,840 to 5,760 pounds of
pollution from the air in one year.
So what can one individual do? Plant trees. Incorporate
trees into your landscaping projects. Various trees enhance any yard; some are
quick-growing, like the Quaking Aspen, Sugar Maple, and Arborvitae. Whichever type
of tree you choose, remember that one mature tree can create enough oxygen to
support 4 people.
.jpg)
