|
Facts
- Trees help us breath by taking carbon dioxide out of the air and producing oxygen. Carbon dioxide, produced from burning fossil fuels, is the greenhouse gas most blamed for trapping heat in the atmosphere and linked to global climate change. One acre of trees produces enough oxygen for 18 people to breathe each day and eliminates as much carbon dioxide from the air as is produced from driving a car 26,000 miles.
- Tree leaves help trap and remove tiny particles of soot and dust which otherwise damages human lungs.
- Tree root networks filter contaminants in soils producing clean water.
- Trees prevent erosion by trapping soil that would otherwise become silt. Silt destroys fish eggs and other aquatic wildlife and makes rivers and streams shallower, causing more frequent and more severe flooding. Trees along streams also hold streambanks in place to protect against flooding.
- In the Chamblee area, the loss of 44% of its tree cover has resulted in storm water runoff problems costing $129 million.
- To meet state sewer standards, the City of Atlanta is spending $240 million to counter effects associated with the loss of tree canopy.
- By creating shade, trees moderate temperatures both globally and in the micro-climates of cities and counties.
- Tree loss in Atlanta and neighboring counties has resulted in urban "heat islands" with temperatures 3-10 degrees above the surrounding countryside. The hot weather dome over the Atlanta area has changed local weather patterns including reducing rain in some areas and increasing the intensity of thunderstorms in others.
- "Heat islands," created by tree loss, also exponentially increase air pollutants. When pollutant chemicals are superheated by high air temperatures, they become more volatile and interact with each other to create ground level ozone which would not happen at lower temperatures. That is why Atlanta's most dangerous levels of air pollution occur in the summer.
- Planting 30 trees each year offsets greenhouse gases from your car and home.
- Three trees located strategically around your house can cut air conditioning bills in half. On a larger scale, the cooling effects of trees can save millions of energy dollars.
- Trees create a sense of privacy in urban environments.
- Trees create buffers to reduce noise.
- The presence of trees in urban neighborhoods has been linked to less crime.
- Almost all woodpeckers can dig out holes for nests only in standing dead trees or the dead stubs on live trees and many other wildlife species depend on dead wood for nesting.
- Dead and decaying trees on the ground replenish soils by returning important nutrients, and provide food resources for many types of wildlife.
- Trees provide substances with medicinal values such as the active ingredients used in asthma medications and cough remedies. Aspirin is derived from the bark of a willow tree.
- Trees provide green scenery that has been shown to speed up patient recovery in hospitals and reduce stress.
- Property values of homes with trees in the landscape are 5 - 20% higher than equivalent properties without trees.
- 60% of Atlanta's natural tree cover has been removed over the last 20 years.
- Metro Atlanta is loosing trees at the rate of 50 acres a day according to NASA.
- The "State of Our Urban Forests" study recommended that healthy cities aim for a 40% tree cover (equivalent of 20 large trees per acre) to ensure their ecological, economic, and social sustainability.
- Atlanta has an average tree cover of 27%, Boston has tree cover of 21.2, Austin 34%, Baltimore 31%, Milwaukee 18%, Chicago 11 percent, and New York City has 16.6 percent.
- A recent survey by University of Georgia and Valdosta State University researchers shows that 85% percent of Georgians said they would approve some limits on private property rights if they were necessary to protect the environment. Return to Top
|
