But 4.5 million tree are planted every day, which works out to 6.5 trees a year for every American. As a result, more wood is grown each year in the U.S. than is harvested or lost to disease, insects and fire. No surprise, then, that the nation has more trees today than it had 70 years ago. A major reason that trees are so plentiful in America is because people plant and grow them for use as wood products. These trees also provide important environmental benefits, ranging from windbreaks, shade, and soil stabilization to pure aesthetics, wildlife habitat, plus improved air and water quality.
Forests are oxygen factories and greenhouse exchangers.
Growing just one pound of wood in a vigorous younger forest removed 1.47 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and replaces it with 1.07 pounds of life-sustaining oxygen. Carbon dioxide accounts for about half of the world's greenhouse gases, which trap solar rays. An old forest reverses the process, removing oxygen and emitting carbon dioxide. As long as America continues to plant and grow new trees for wood products, the environment will be the big winner. So in a very real sense, wood products are the most environmentally responsible building material anyone could ever use.