One of the first things that comes to mind when I think of carbon emission, is trees. They are probably the most effective way of reducing your carbon footprint. Trees are what take in the nasty carbon dioxide in the air and cause global warming. Sure, there are many others ways to lessen our footprint on the planet, but why not erase it completely? As the population of the planet increases, more homes, buildings, and apartments are built. Acres of trees get wiped out in the process. Planting trees can be rewarding in many ways. The shade acquired by planting trees near your house, can lower your air conditioning bill. Also, you are helping the future generations of the world by making the earth a greener, healthier place.
http://greenblizzard.com/2010/09/15/why … nt-a-tree/

Kristin F,

I completely agree with your theory, but what we may not realize is how intricate this situation actually is. Planting more trees won't automatically save our environment because the real problem is the harm being done. Everyday essentials such as shampoo, rubber, and paper are made from trees all around the world. What many don't realize is how greatly this impacts our earth, considering it is the root of the problem. If we continue down this path, there is no point in simply planting more trees. Sure, it will buy us time, but it won't solve anything. In order for us to truly help the situation, we must find better alternatives that don't involve the death of one of our key resources.

One example of an alternative resource is Hemp, which comes from high-growing varieties of the Cannabis plant. Although Hemp is also a plant, its fibers can be used to make large quantities with little being taken. Its quick growth provides twice as much fiber as an acr e of pine trees. Many products can be produced from hemp fibers, but one of the most major is paper. Although we can still continue improving, alternatives such as this are a great start.

[Tree Carbon Intake](//res.cloudinary.com/moot/image/upload/t_d3-gallery-s3/v1414281787/:footprint:FL8Y:treecarbonintake.jpg.jpg) Planting trees may not automatically save our environment, but they do absorb a lot of CO2 (carbon dioxide) in our atmosphere. In the picture I have supplied info from a book called _The Visual Miscellaneum_ by David McCandless. As you can see in the picture, trees absorb 120 gigatons (g) of carbon dioxide! This is biggest factor (and the only factor) that absorbs this green house gas. If we increase the number of trees planted, and decrease the amount of trees cut down, then we can slowly raise the number of gigatons of absorbed carbon dioxide. Are there other ways that can carbon dioxide be absorbed? The reply above mentions hemp as an alternative source for making paper. Are there any challenges presented when using hemp to make paper?

This is a great way to look at the issue. Rather than just targeting man made emissions, the idea of planting trees presents a whole new and simpler addition to the solution as a whole. We should also attempt to preserve the already existing trees and turn to different sources for construction, paper...etc. I think with the combined forces of cutting human carbon emissions and planting trees to absorb up the CO2, we will greatly reduce the rising carbon levels worldwide.  Good thinking!

Hi Kristin! My name is Paulina ! I'm totally agree, we should plant trees to lower carbon footprint and also to take care of nature. We need to take care of the Forrest we have because it can became new houses some day
Nature gave us  a nature tool to help lower carbon footprint, so why we don't use it?

I totally agree with you. Trees can definitely reduce the carbon footprint. Deforestation has a significant environmental impact. Many studies suggest that it is a contributor to global warming; it impacts the water cycle by reducing the amount of water in the soil and air; it contributes to soil loss; and it results in a decline in biodiversity. A helpful idea would be building the buildings on abandoned parking lots or places that don't harm the environment instead of building them on forests. Also, the trees could be incorporated as a part of the new structures. Rather doing nothing about the deforestation, these are creative ideas that can reduce the world's carbon footprint.

Yeah! Deforestation is an upfront problem in virtually every country. As we use up the resources in our areas, we try to expand outward by clearing out land to make room for businesses, neighborhoods, and other buildings. Like you said, we use trees to absorb a lot of the CO2 in the air. I really think we should start organizations within our schools that plant trees in parks or neighborhoods on weekends. Also, we can support companies that are planting a few trees for every product of theirs bought. One example is the Crayola company. They're known for their prominence among school supplies, but the company is breaking barriers in resource conservation. For every tree that is cut down making Crayola colored pencils, another one is grown in their controlled forest. What a great idea!
Check it out: http://www.americasgreatestbrands.com/v … rayola.pdf

I agree that planting trees can reduce carbon emissions. And I think it's the most simple and easy way to improve our environment. Everyone can have enough power to join this activity. When you plant trees, you don't just make your property or your community nicer. You also directly reduce your carbon footprint. To a large extent, trees eat carbon dioxide. When you plant trees, you are directly cleaning the air. As a tree matures, it can consume 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per year as it turns that CO2 into parts of itself. It also releases enough oxygen to supply your needs for two years. These two effects help to give the earth a healthier climate.

Hi Kristin, I'm Anson Kong from Guangzhou, China. I saw a lot of posts, but your post made me rather unforgettable,  I think plant trees is a good choice and good way to reduce the carbon footprint. Planting trees not only a way to reduce the carbon footprint, but also it can help out to clean the air, In other word，planting trees improve our living environment.

I agree with Kristin. Planting trees is a simple and broadly effective way to solve a few problems. 1) It reduces the level of carbon dioxide in the air which is a major contributor to climate change (warming). 2) Trees produce oxygen which we all need in order to live. 3) Having more trees is a good for people to see in their daily life. There are studies that show walking in the woods (even in a city park with trees) can make people happier.

You have to think abut the amount of space that this will take. If we start planting trees everywhere, then we will likely either A intrude into biospheres not used to trees and forestation, or B force farmland to destroy ecosystems to provide food. It is a question if we have enough room to plant enough trees to support the carbon emissions we are pumping out.

@henry strasburger

Planting trees wouldn't take substiantal amount of area; for the past 40 years we have cut down 20% of the Amazon Rain Forest, and that's about 5 million km² or 3x bigger than Alaska. The real problem is we are cutting more trees down then we can replant. Corporations and business must cut down on the amount of trees they collect, and start replant the trees.

I think it would be great for cites to open and make more public parks. Because one its great of the community and it will help reduce the carbon in the air by taking up the plots that could possibly be for factories and other componys

Planting trees is great but also you can reduce more and more forest getting cut down year by year. this will majorly effect the cargo in the air and in the long run

Planting trees will help, but tress also get cut down all the time, so will it really make a significant difference?

> @Samantha G (USA)

If we could plant more trees than we could cut then we could possibly make a difference.
More trees = Less C02 in the atmosphere and
Less C02 in the atmosphere = Reversing climate change and
Reversing climate change = More trees.

Not only that but if we weren't planting more trees to counter the cutting down of trees then the CO2 would pile up even worse then we could stop. It makes all the difference with every tree we plant because every three that we plant is one more tree helping us keep one more step away from a worse state then we have already put ourselves into.

How could we plant trees on a much larger scale?  And how can we stop the out of control burning of forests?

I agree. Planting trees is an effective way to reduce the amount of CO2. it is important to plant trees because many forests are being cut down in order to build furniture and other things. So by planting trees more oxygen would be released and the amount of CO2 would decrease.

We do need trees but I think it would be a better use of our time to create more nature preserves than planting more trees that can be cut down In the future.

Planting trees are good because they help us breath

We should spend less time cutting down trees and take more time planting and caring for them.

I totally agree, if we cut down trees faster than we grow them than we will run out of trees and it will take a long time to regrow them.

So the answer is to stop cutting down trees in the first place.