Plant a tree

Plant a tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.

Idea:  what about a "tree scholarship?" -- donate trees to people or organizations who might not be able to afford them but would be able to take care of them.

Comments

[Mary Jo Graca]

What about planting a bush?

I don't like trees close to houses:
- Branches might fall on the roof and on power lines, causing costly damage
- By shading the house they prevent the sun from warming it, thus increasing the need for heating
- By shading the house they increase the need to turn on lights

In Nova Scotia, my heater works from October to May. Depending on the weather, I might have it on in June, August and September. The only time my house gets hot enough to need a fan or air conditioning is for about 10 days, between mid-July and the end of August.

I think that trees close to the house probably cause me to produce more carbon dioxide in heating and lighting than is saved by decreasing air conditioning and the tree removes from the air.

Planting trees might be a very good idea far away from buildings or in places where air-conditioning is used more than heating. But it might be counterproductive near buildings in cold places. Has anyone studied this?

What about bushes/shrubs? Bushes don't cause damage during storms. They can be kept short enough to not block windows on the south side. They provide some protection from cold winds. They have lots of leaves to produce oxygen. They likely also absorb and store carbon dioxide.

Has anyone researched how much carbon dioxide a bush/shrub absorbs per year and over its lifetime?

Research might show (I don't know that it does) that bushes are a good idea. Perhaps we need a "plant a bush" campaign, in particular for cities and towns in cold areas.