There are multiple ways to preserve our waterways and sustain our planet. While some are not that attractive (I’m looking at you, carbon reduction), there’s a pretty green way to keep our water bluer — don’t cut down the trees!
Yes, you’re wise to seek products not created by knocking down rainforests, but you can also make a difference by preserving what’s growing near your home and in the neighborhood. Trees are usually beautiful and always useful — they provide oxygen, improve the quality of our air, and are home to many creatures. Leaves soak in and filter the sun’s intensity; by reducing levels of carbon dioxide, trees lower the air temperature and reduce the concentration of heat caused by climate change. Trees with deep and spreading roots hold on to soil as the rain falls and absorb water to deter flooding.
When trees topple, greenhouse gas emissions increase. Every chopped tree equals less living space for the animals and insects that inhabited them, a loss of a food source, and destruction of the plants that grew along its bark and in its shade. Without trees to catch and filter pollutants, rainwater speeds from land to the closest waterways, bringing along sediment, waste products, chemicals, and other toxins. Along the journey, the contaminants erode the shoreline. Upon arrival, this noxious stew raises the water level, increases harmful blooms, and poisons marine creatures and others in the food chain.
Chopping down what exists and replanting new landscaping may be expeditious, but is speed and convenience worth the loss of habitat and damage to the waterways? If you live in a rural or suburban area, beautifying your home or office can be done by designing around or incorporating existing trees into your design. Urban dwellers can get involved in park preservation, and every citizen can look at new civic products and ask the powers-that-be: Have you done enough to preserve existing trees?
Everyone can also use less paper. Learn which companies and products contribute most to deforestation; switch brands, decrease use, and/or let the company know you care about trees. Reward the products and manufacturers that plants more trees than they consume and those that utilize recycled products by purchasing products labeled with the FSC logo — it’s from the Forest Stewardship Council, certifying that the item comes from responsibly managed forests.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service has a Plant-A-Tree Program, and it also offers up other ideas for planting trees across the country while you’re saving them in your own backyard.
More info and links:
Rainforest facts: https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation
Ways to halt deforestation: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/forests/solutions-to-deforestation/
Forest Stewardship Council: https://us.fsc.org/en-us
Plant-A-Tree Program: https://www.fs.fed.us/working-with-us/donations
