It’s the day before Halloween and I was watching a NOVA program on how to cool our planet. As scientists presented various solutions, one idea really stood out to me – plant trees. Trees capture and hold carbon, which is a major overload to Earth’s delicate system. Though it is estimated earth has over a trillion trees, far too many have already been stripped away. One solution is to plant trees. But where? Everywhere possible! Areas that are struggling with desertification are increasingly important as well as in parks, subdivisions, land bordering agricultural areas, and especially Rainforests. Matching native trees to the correct soil and conditions for the area is also important to prevent invasive influence or monocultures and to lessen their loss from disease and pest attack. The NOVA special pointed to other possible ideas to deal with climate change but this was one of the easiest for all of us to handle. Where to get them? Transplant a tree from a median or roadside where it will be mowed down, find saplings in your yard to plant in a nearby open space, sprout your own acorns with your children (soak them in clean water), get bare root pines from your Department of Natural Resources. Obtain permission to plant trees in local wild spaces or parks. You can also plant them in key places in your yard but don't plant them under power lines or too close to a structure. Donate to tree planting and Rainforest restoration programs in other countries. Have your children make this a class, scout, or church project. Let’s all do our part to cool our planet!
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