Here are a few more reasons:
• Shade trees can reduce utility bills for air conditioning by 15-50%.
• Healthy trees can increase residential property values by up to 15%.
• The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to 10 room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.
• Studies indicate that trees help create feelings of relaxation and well-being.
• In one year an average tree produces enough oxygen for a family of four.
• One tree can absorb the CO2 output from four cars every year.
• To make up for the loss of trees in just the past decade, we would need to replant 321 million acres, which would entail planting approximately 14 billion trees every year - for 10 consecutive years.
• Planting trees remains the cheapest, most effective means of drawing excess CO2 from the atmosphere.
• Planting 100 million trees could reduce carbon by an estimated 18 million tons per year, while saving American consumers $4 billion each year on utility bills.
• If every American family planted just one tree, the amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere would be reduced by one billion pounds annually. This is almost five percent of the amount that human activity pumps into the atmosphere each year.
• Forests cover about 30 percent of the global land surface, providing structure and functional habitat for two-thirds of the Earth's terrestrial species.
• The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that, with improvements in plant productivity and conversion efficiencies, 25 percent of U.S.-imported oil could be displaced by plantation-grown trees by 2050.
• The amount of oxygen produced by an acre of trees per year equals the amount consumed by 18 people annually. One tree produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen each year.
• The world's tallest tree is a coast redwood in California, measuring more than 360 feet!!
• Approximately 2.6 million acres of trees are planted in the U.S. annually. This annual planting roughly equals the size of Connecticut.
• Trees lower local air temperatures by transpiring water and shading surfaces. Because they lower air temperatures, shade buildings in the summer, and block winter winds, they reduce building energy use and cooling costs.
Operational Manager at
Earl May Nursery and Garden Center in Ames, Iowa
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