People who will not sustain trees will soon live in a world that will not sustain people. - Bryce Nelson
Trees purify the air; they also purify the mind……if you want to save your world, you must save the trees. - The Trees of Endor
"Forever Grandmother" excerpt
Trees do so much for us, yet we usually take them for granted.
Perhaps this is because trees are — or seem — ubiquitous. But we have cut down half of American’s original forests, and, for example, over 95% of old-growth (200+ year old) redwoods. This disastrous, ultimately suicidal trend is easily reversed if we simply learn to again value trees, not just on a global scale, but also personally, in our daily lives.
TreeSpirit’s emphasis is emotional rather than scientific, but since science has its place and great power, let’s touch upon the prodigious list of trees’ magical, mysterious, mostly invisible gifts. (A more complete compendium could make a separate, giant website.)
Trees:
• produce oxygen and filter pollutants from the air we breathe – These kinds of stats necessarily vary widely, but 1 mature tree, on average, produces 260 pounds of O2 per year. 2 trees can provide enough O2 for a family of four.” (Source: McAliney, Mike, Trust for Public Land, Sacramento, CA, December, 1993.)
More than 20% of the world’s oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest (Source: Rainforest Alliance.org.)
1 acre of forest absorbs 6 tons of carbon dioxide and emits 4 tons of oxygen, the annual need of 18 people.” (Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture)
• soil filtration (cleaning!) - Phytoremediation is the technical term for the absorption of toxic chemicals and pollutants from contaminated soil. Trees not only can store pollutants but can even convert some into less harmful substances, and filter sewage, farm chemicals, animal wastes, and roadside toxins like metals, pesticides, solvents, crude oil and its derivitives, and even explosives.
• reduce flooding and soil erosion via soil stabilization • Storm water that would otherwise run off impervious driveways, parking lots and roads, is absorbed by the forest floor, which then allows it to trickle down into groundwater or be taken up by vegetation.
• reduce urban crime (!) • A 2001 Univ. of Illinois study found greenery (trees, shrubs, gardens) had calming effect, reducing the crime rate 52%.
• provide precious animal habitat • 70% of Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests.
• provide medicines in vast quantities, including medicines yet to be discovered in forests and jungles that are rapidly being cut down. Are we wise enough to preserve them?
• food—it grows on trees! • Almonds, avocados, bananas, cherries, grapefruits, lemons, oranges, peaches, pears pineapples, plums, mangos, pineapples, and on and on. And trees’ productivity matches this diversity: a single apple tree can yield up to 600 apples annually: local, organic, inexpensive, healthy sustenance.
• carbon sequestration • one example: America’s National Forests absorb 10-15% of the nation’s carbon emissions (Source: NationalGeographic.com)
• inspire and comfort • perhaps the most valuable underrecognized feat of all: trees silently, unendingly, nurture and elevate the human spirit.
Magnolia Exploration excerpt
We humans have become so powerful, we can exterminate entire species of animals and plants, perhaps even most trees. The question remains whether we can use our inner wisdom—distinct from facts and information—to preserve our own life-sustaining environment. Which leads to this last quote from an unlikely source:
With great power comes great responsibility.
- from Stan Lee’s “Spider-Man”