Well, that wondering might just be a reality. Forests are rapidly diminishing. More and more trees are cut down for space and resources. And with fewer trees comes more and more environmental changes, all for the worse. Trees are an important part of this planet, and it falls on every single one of you to do your part to protect them.
Have you ever realized how many animals live in trees? By cutting down trees, we have endangered many species, such as: the Uakari monkey, that lives in the Amazon. Massive deforestation has destroyed its natural habitat and forced it to the brink of extinction. Also, the poison dart frog, which normally eats termites and mosquitoes, making it a useful predator, has been endangered by deforestation. Many other animals are endangered, and when a certain species of animal is endangered, other species have no food, thus becoming endangered themselves. We eat some of the latter species, and as such, deforestation impacts our food levels as well as animal kind.
Not only are trees good for animals, they’re also quite good for us. Trees reduce wind and help to cool the air on a hot summer day, as they lose moisture and reflect heat upwards. It’s estimated that trees can reduce the temperature in a city by about 7 degrees Celsius or 44.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Not only do trees provide aesthetically pleasing scenery, they help cities have a bit more nature in them. Plus, trees also act as filters, catching dust and absorbing potentially harmful pollutants. In fact, each tree removes about 1.7 kilos of dust and pollutants every year. They also provide shade from solar radiation and can help reduce noise in big cities. Not only do they have a physical benefit, they also have a healing one as well. Over 20 species of trees have medicinal properties, like the oil from birch bark which has antiseptic capabilities. And they have mental properties as well. Research shows that within minutes of being surrounded by trees and green space, your blood pressure goes down, your heart rate slows, and you become less stressed.
And that’s not all trees do. Trees also absorb carbon dioxide out of the air and produce oxygen in return. But with fewer trees, more carbon dioxide escapes. And when carbon dioxide and all the other pollutants trees capture go free, some collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that has reflected off of earth’s surface. Normally, this radiation would escape into space, but not in this case. The pollutants and carbon catch the radiation, keeping it in the atmosphere. Worse, these pollutants last for centuries, meaning that once it’s up there, it’s not leaving for a long time.
A homeschool writing assignment through Outschool is what sparked Jackson's trees4humans website. He created a video now shown on the Home Page, because he wanted to share what he had learned with other kids and also inspire them to get involved in protecting Earth and taking steps to help fight climate change. He believes that kids can make a difference, using his website to help inspire others of his generation...and younger.
So, why does this matter? You see, the radiation begins to heat up earth’s surface. That’s what experts call the greenhouse effect. But why is that bad? It’s bad because hotter temperatures can wreak havoc on the environment, causing:
1. severe droughts;
2. extreme storms;
3. melting glaciers and snowcaps;
4. disruption of habitats which could drive even more animals to extinction;
5. increased allergies and asthma;
6. rising sea levels, which could potentially flood the eastern seaboard; and
7. severe heat waves.
But, Jackson, why do I have to do anything? I mean, thousands of experts are working on it for me, right? So, that may be true. There are thousands of experts currently working on climate change, and deforestation. However, for our environment to change, we all need to do our part. There are too many people who think that the world’s problems will solve themselves. They won’t. We’ve impacted our environment too much for nature to recover on its own. However, everyone can make a difference. It just takes one person to plant a tree, or walk somewhere instead of driving, or even spread the word.
Even if you can’t do any of those things, there are still ways to help. You can donate to a charitable organization, like Team Trees (https://teamtrees.org/), where for every dollar you donate, another tree is planted. I mean, even I, an 11-year-old boy, was able and willing to donate my own hardearned money to help fight climate change and deforestation. Every dollar counts. There are so many ways to help our environment and so many reasons, too. We only have one earth, so we need to preserve it. Trees are such an important part of our ecosystem, and together, I firmly believe that we can stop global warming and preserve animals from extinction. Now, let's save our planet!
There are so many ways to help our environment and so many reasons, too. We only have one earth, so we need to preserve it. Trees are such an important part of our ecosystem, and together, I firmly believe that we can stop global warming and preserve animals from extinction.
Now, let's save our planet!
Let me know what you did to help save our planet!
Use the contact form to share what you’ve done OR send me an email: trees4humans@gmail.com
I’ll add your name to our HONORS FOREST and send you a special certificate to show you’ve joined the fight to help save our planet.
