Trees not only provide us with wood, paper, fruit, nuts, shade, natural beauty and a buffer against noise, they play an important role in Earth s natural cycles. Trees capture carbon from atmospheric carbon dioxide, and release oxygen. Carbon dioxide is responsible for half of the greenhouse effect, so trees act as a natural control against global warming. A typical healthy tree removes between 25 and 45 pounds of carbon from the air every year.
Trees also help prevent flooding and help control soil erosion.
Although trees are necessary for our survival, forests are being destroyed at a rate far faster than our current efforts to replace them. California has lost 10 million trees in the last few years due to drought. If they are not replaced by urban trees that can be watered and protected, Dr. Harold Walt, director of the California Department of Forestry, says that the state s Mediterranean climate poses the risk of becoming hotter and more desert-like. His goal for cooling the air is 20 million more urban trees by the year 2000. Measures to save water has led some people to mistakenly discourage tree planting.