If huge numbers of trees could be planted simultaneously, significant amounts of carbon would be locked up for decades, buying time for scientists and society to find permanent solutions. The magnitude of the global warming problem is great, and no one person, city or even state can plant enough trees to measurably cool the globe. Accomplishing that will require a massive, worldwide effort involving the people and leaders of many nations. Our urban and community forestry efforts CAN contribute, however, in several different ways. Today's urban centers have been likened to cinders on the landscape, hot spots with average temperatures that can be three to 10 degrees higher than the surrounding countryside.
Trees cool the local environment, mitigating the effects of hot temperatures and conserving energy.
Trees that protect from winter winds can also cut heating costs. Together, these mitigating effects reduce the amount of fossil fuel that must be burned, the principal source of increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Finally, planting trees and creating a new, healthy urban forest is a positive way of demonstrating concern for the environment we live in, at home in our cities as well as across our globe. Trees absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and can lock it up for decades. This page created by David Silsbee.