About trees and why we should care about them, especially those whose shade we shall never sit under.
Questions to be aware of during the read:
Why are forests so important?
How did we get here?
What is deforestation? Reforestation?
Why or when did deforestation become a global climate problem?
Why do we need to stop deforestation?
How can we stop deforestation?
Why should planting trees be on our bucket list?
How can we stop waste of wooden resources and paper?
In order to produce wood, paper or to make space for agriculture, humans have been cutting trees since a long time ago. Because the planet is self-regulatory, this hasn’t been a problem, trees would eventually grow back. BUT! The human population has been growing exponentially1 for the last 1000 years. This meant more wood needed to be used, more plantations needed to be created, and thus more trees needed to be cut down.
Why is deforestation dangerous? Trees have a very important role in the ecosystem. They absorb CO2 (carbon dioxide) and release O2 (oxygen). At night, trees do the opposite: they absorb O2 and release CO2, but they release 10 times more oxygen than they consume. We breathe in oxygen, so trees basically help us breathe fresh air and stay healthy.
The cause of excessive2 deforestation is the fact that so far, there are not many policies3 to force companies to take responsibility and replant the trees they cut down. There are certain certifications that help protect the forests, but there are still not enough.
It is said that, during their lifetime, a human needs, on average, about 10 (continuously growing) trees to help them breathe. Each human consumes about 450 trees worth of paper during their lifetime! Add this to the amount of products made of wood you use in your life. This means that a person needs to plant at least 500 trees in their lifetime to account for the trees that are being cut down for them.
Wow! Such a big number right? Luckily, some organizations are working hard to protect the trees. They even created certifications to help with both preservation and reforestation.
Here's a few stats:
What can we do about it?
A very important and simple thing you can do for the planet is planting trees. Trees not only give us the oxygen that we need to breathe, but forests also clean the air and support entire ecosystems.
The Amazon forest for example is called the "lungs of the planet", because it helps regulate the atmosphere, by doing everything from absorbing CO2 from the air and releasing oxygen instead, to keeping the global air currents in control.
Big forests, be it the Amazon, the Indonesian forests, or our local forests, are cut down for several reasons, either for lumber (wood) for construction and our everyday products. But there is also on
e more big reason why forests are being cut. And that is for agriculture. Cutting trees in order to make fields for our food is a problem of survival, so of course I will never say we need to stop cutting forests to create fields for our food.
However, the problem is the way we manage those fields. And the worst example of land management is… animal agriculture. In order to raise cattle for our beef, we need an insane amount of land. Not just for the grazing of animals, but also for the food used to feed the animals. A single pound of beef requires 64.5 square feet of land, which means that for one hamburger we cut a room full of trees. If you eat beef every week, for you alone 10 football fields of land h
ave been used, land that was once a forest.
Animal agriculture is the second most impactful human activity and the number one reason for deforestation worldwide. In America alone, over 70% of the agricultural land is used for raising of animals (including their food).
Questions:
What can you do to reduce the number of trees that are being cut down?
Are there any initiatives for planting trees in your city?
What are some products made of wood that you use and throw away very often?
How much paper do you use every week?
TASKS!!!
1p ◻︎Download more Infographics on Forests using the link below:
2p ◻︎Download WeMori App here to plant trees in Mexico: DOWNLOAD
3p ◻︎Research and let us know what other ideas do you have using this form: [Insert Form]
1p ◻︎Complete this [Questionnaire] to find out how much do you know about forests and to gain points.
2p ◻︎Share this on your social media using the buttons below: [Insert Buttons]
1p ◻︎Complete this [Petition] to push governments to extend consumer responsibility and force companies to replant the trees they had cut down.
10p◻︎Buy this [Product] to support weMORI non-profit organization plant more trees.
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