Planting One Tree Can Make a Difference in Our Efforts to Stop & Reverse Climate Change 

Written by: Micaela Sauve

Trees are a beautiful part of the natural environment that also function as efficient machines; constantly working to make Earth a healthier planet. Trees protect the soil, reduce runoff, create a habitat for animals and plants, provide energy, and purify the air and water.

Since 1990, it is estimated that 420 million hectares of forest has been lost to deforestation [1].

Deforestation comes in many forms, including fires, clear-cutting for land clearance (i.e. farming, urban development, etc.), unsustainable logging for timber, and degradation due to climate change. It is estimated that 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions are the result of deforestation.

Developing countries have been hit the hardest as most of the third-world’s population relies on agriculture to survive. Being deprived of trees that protect their soil and purify the air and water, communities are either:

1. Being forced to abandon their homes and becoming climate refugees or
2. Perpetuating a cycle of destructively harvesting whatever they can for the sake of mere survival.
   
   

Reforestation offers a third choice.

Aside from purifying the air and water, healthy soil contributes to prosperous farming, potentially producing enough food for people to feed their families and a surplus to sell for a sufficient income.

By reintroducing trees we are restoring land which:

• Anchors topsoil
• Increases organic matter
• And helps the soil absorb water.
  
  

They also contribute to healthy water cycles by pulling water from the ground to the air while roots allow water to infiltrate soil and refill aquifers.

In just 10-15 years a forest can transform from a lifeless stretch of earth into a diverse self sustaining ecosystem.

While planting trees will never be a substitute for decreasing fossil fuel emissions, by planting more than a half trillion trees we could capture about 1 billion metric tons of carbon.

That's enough to negate about 20 years of human-produced carbon emissions at the current rate, or about half of all carbon emitted by humans since 1960 [2].

In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, suggested that 950 million hectares (2.3 billion acres) of new forests could help limit the 1.5℃ (2.7℉) increase in global average temperature.

One tree can make a difference!

On average, just one mature tree can sequester 22lbs of CO2 every year [4].

Eden Reforestation Projects is a nonprofit NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) that works in developing countries to rebuild natural landscapes destroyed by deforestation and provides jobs that support these communities in restoring their local environment and economy long-term.

To date they have planted more than 700 million trees and provided more than 10,000 community members with fair wage employment.

Our mission here at Net Zero Co. does not stop at just creating sustainable products.

With your help, we continually work towards a holistic approach to doing good for the planet. For every order placed we plant 1 tree. We have committed to planting a minimum of 3000 trees per month, therefore even if we don't receive 3000 orders, we still plant 3000 trees!

In partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects, we have planted 112,346 trees and counting! Once these trees reach maturity this contribution will lead to more than 2.2 million pounds of CO2 being sequestered.

Not only is this a huge milestone for us, but it reminds us that our individual actions can make a collective difference.⁠⁠

Sources:

1. FAO and UNEP, “The state of the world's forests 2020,” www.fao.org, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/en/#:~:text=Since%201990%2C%20it%20is%20estimated,over%20the%20past%20three%20decades.&text=The%20area%20of%20primary%20forest,80%20million%20hectares%20since%201990.
2. A. Buis, “Examining the viability of planting trees to help mitigate climate change – climate change: Vital signs of the planet,” NASA, 11-Nov-2019. [Online]. Available: https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2927/examining-the-viability-of-planting-trees-to-help-mitigate-climate-change/.
3. Eden Reforestation Projects, “Homepage,” Eden Reforestation Projects. [Online]. Available: https://www.edenprojects.org/.
4. R. Bernet, “How much CO2 does a tree absorb?,” One Tree Planted, 05-Oct-2021. [Online]. Available: https://onetreeplanted.org/blogs/stories/how-much-co2-does-tree-absorb.