How many trees are we cutting down in our society every day? This is a serious issue and it is affecting our environment. Estimates vary, but most agree that trees are being cut down at an alarming rate. In fact, deforestation is one of the major contributors to global warming, so this problem must be addressed. One solution to this problem is tree planting, along with other forms of conservation.
Trees play a very important role in our lives by providing shelter, food, and other products. Without them, we wouldn't be able to produce food, fuel cars, and other goods. So, how many trees are we cutting down every day? Estimates vary, but most agree that humans are currently cutting down about 15 billion trees each year and replace them with wood or other forms of biomass. That's a pretty good loss of trees per year, and a loss that would equate to a reduction in the earth's current forests, thus contributing to global warming.
Take a look around your house and you'll see how many trees you need to cut down. You might have to replace all the windows in your home. Then there's your toilet paper. The trees that are cut down to make your toilet paper aren't doing any good for the planet, so why don't you just save some? By making use of less paper, you're actually helping to save our forests. That's a step in the right direction to protect our planet's future.
Another great way to conserve our forests is by planting more trees. One study found that if every person planted two trees per acre, we'd save two billion trees. If every person planted one tree per acre, the world's largest forest would be reduced to just a dot of land. In other words, by planting more trees, we're conserving not only our environment, but our climate as well.
One area where deforestation is rampant is palm oil production. Palm oil plantations take an enormous toll on the earth's rainforests, which provide the plants with oxygen. The carbon dioxide released from burning palm oil trees contribute to global warming. Palm oil production should be banned. However, we cannot ban all production of palm oil, because that will hurt the farmers too.
So, it seems we can cut down trees, but we can also act to stop climate change from getting worse. Stopping climate change may take a bit of effort, but it will definitely cost money. Cutting down trees, even one at a time, won't have the same kind of monetary toll on our wallets as going completely off the electric grid.