Planting more Trees

Planting more trees can help replace the many trees that are being torn down due to deforestation. Even the smallest plants can make a difference, so help out the environment!

Some pointers about growing trees to help our environment are:

• The trees that absorb the most carbon dioxide are trees that are appropriate for the specific region, have a long lifespan, and grow quickly.
• Restoring forests is most effective in areas where remnants of original forests remain.
• Small clearings surrounded by forests generally recover more quickly than other areas.
• Most types of trees grow best in moist, deep, and fertile soil.
• Low maintenance trees are ideal for planting because the machinery required to maintain trees give off a large amount of pollution themselves.
• Evergreen trees are a good option, for they convert carbon dioxide to oxygen all year long.

According to a researcher from the U.S. Forest Services, these trees are best for carbon dioxide storage:

• Horse Chestnut
• Black Walnut
• American Sweetgum
• Ponderosa Pine*
• Red Pine*
• White Pine*
• London Plane
• Hispaniolan Pine*
• Douglas Fir*
• Scarlet Oak
• Red Oak
• Virginia Live Oak
• Bald Cypress
  * Pine and Fir trees are ideal choices because they do not require much water, can grow up to 100 feet tall, and have long lifespans.

What else can we plant besides trees?

- Bushes can be planted to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In fact, many times planting several bushes is more effective than planting one single tree.
- Growing fruit-bearing trees is a good idea. They provide a source of food, shade, and absorption of carbon dioxide. In fact, shade is one of the major ways to keep energy costs in households low. By obtaining some fruit from trees, people reduce the demand for these products in stores, thus lessening the need for more crops from farms. New farms will not be needed to accommodate a large demand.
- Bamboo is an excellent plant to grow more of. It stores four times the amount of carbon dioxide as trees and produces 35% more oxygen. It is easy to maintain and grows in many types of environments. Bamboo can also grow indoors, outdoors, in the shade, or sun.

recycling

By recycling, or reusing products, the demand for certain materials will decrease, and in return output will decrease. This means that more farms will not need to be created to accomodate demand, and more forests will not have to be cut down. Every recycled object makes a difference, so recycle something today!

What can we do?:

• Instead of throwing used containers in the garbage can, dispose of them into a recycling bin.
• Using recycled toilet paper and tissues can help save many trees. In fact, if each American family bought just one roll of recycled toilet paper one time, 400,000 trees would be saved.
• Having your name removed from junk mailing lists will save a tremendous amount of paper. Every year in the United States, 100 million trees are used to make 4.5 million tons of junk mail.
• Purchase products without boxes or with minimal packaging. An example of this is to purchase ice cream in a cone rather than in a cup.
• Pay bills electronically and send cards (birthday/holiday greetings) over the internet instead of via mail. A great amount of paper is wasted on mail in the United States.
• Use cloth towels instead of paper towels or napkins.
• Use lunch boxes instead of disposable paper bags.
• When printing, use both sides of paper instead of just one.
• Pick up and dispose of any litter. Be sure to recycle the litter if the object is recyclable!
• Offer old magazines to doctor offices, dentists, and motels.
• Donate any old objects instead of disposing of them. Many people would be able to use what you don't want.
• Contact a local recycling center to find out what materials are accepted, if curb-side pickup is available, and if recycling bins can be provided.
• Buy another recycling bin to recycle even more materials.
• Buy products that contain recycled materials.
• When shopping for groceries, use reusable bags instead of plastic or paper. If plastic or paper are used, recycle them after.

All of these materials may be recycled:

• Any type of paper
• Cardboard
• Glass bottles
• Glass jars
• Drink cans (soda cans)
• Empty aerosol cans (hairspray, spray paint)
• All plastic bottles
• Yard trimmings (grass, leaves, shrub clippings)
• Aluminum (beverage containers)
• Batteries
• Many many more! Ask around to discover which products are and are not accepted in your community.

Increase Farm Output

By increasing and upholding the productivity of farms, pastures, and plantations, less forests will be lost in the future. If farms are producing more goods, then there will be no need for more farms to be created by tearing down forests.

• To increase farm output, these conditions may be met: better land management, water management, and use of fertilizers.
• When farms are ran efficiently, production will be more rapid and plentiful.
• Using better fertilizers will make healthier crops, increasing the number of crops that will survive, and thus production as well.
• The mixture of crops within one farm or plantaion may help increase output. One farm can thrive greatly if it produces more types of crops.