Want to Save the world ? - Plant A Tree

Green House gases has been blamed for the cause of Global Warming, and mostly man made gases. Emissions from vehicles, factories, burning waste, farming etc, are increasing the level of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the earth's environment.

But, what can we do as a citizen, to stops these greenhouse gases from damaging our fragile environment?

Planting a tree can help in reducing greenhouse gases, as trees can soak up the harmful greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

Cutting down trees or deforestation has been blamed for the increase in the level of CO2 in the environment, which has resulted in earth's temperature increasing.

Planting a tree will not only help in soaking up the greenhouse gases in the urban environment, but also provide shade in what scientists are calling urban heat islands.

But there rises another problem, by simply planting any tree, will you be able to reduce these greenhouse gases? The answer to that question is No. Some trees can even aggravate the situation, than reducing the gases.

According to an news item which I read at www.abcnews.go.com on the subject of "Wanna Save the World? Make Sure You Plant the Right Tree", not all trees are the same. There are trees which can contribute to air pollution by emitting volatile organic compounds (compounds containing carbon), such as isoprene, which help form ozone, a health hazard.

So, what trees do we need to plant. Researchers havecame up with a list of 31 species, including American basswood, dogwood, Eastern white pine, Eastern red cedar, gray birch, red maple and river birch. That combination, they found, would increase carbon sequestration by 86 percent, and reduce the emission of volatile compounds by 88 percent. (www.abcnews.go.com). But these plants were tested in the US and the results will be different in different regions. Further research needs to be done in finding out the best tree, which will suit a region.

But planting a tree is only a short term solution, as trees will eventually die and rotting trees can release CO2 into the environment. Therefore planting trees will only buys us time, for us to reduce green gas emission. The less we emit greenhouse gases in to the environment, the less we to have a solution to absorb them. The saying "Prevention is better than cure" sums it up quite well.

source : www.abcnews.go.com (click on the link to read the full story on "Wanna Save the World? Make Sure You Plant the Right Tree"