From Guest Blogger Emily Harper: The Truth about Climate Change — Will Planting Trees Really Save Us?

Changes in the temperature in the past decades have brought the worst natural disasters that wreaked havoc everywhere in the world. From hurricane Katrina in 2005 that claimed more than a thousand lives in the country to cyclone Nargis in Myanmar where more than 100,000 lives were lost.

Scientists have been actively studying the effects of the changing climate since the 1960’s. Experts have determined that the average global temperature has risen about 1.4F (0.8 degrees) since the mid-1800’s. The numbers are not much to look at but the effects speak louder than the first glance at the statistics.

As the Director of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology Chris Field explains in an article for Stanford University, “We’re already seeing evidence of climate-change impacts in the increased frequency of extreme events. We’ve seen record-setting temperatures almost every year, including a phenomenal number in the United States in 2012. Globally, nine of the 10 hottest years on record have occurred since 2000. In the future, high-temperature episodes are very likely to become more frequent and more severe. For most areas on land, we are already seeing that, and expect a future with more of the rainfall coming in the heaviest events, the kind of events that can lead to floods.”

“In the last century, sea level has risen an average of about 6 inches. Over the rest of the century, it could rise another 12 to 30 inches. If you’re trying to manage risk and prevent disasters, it’s important to recognize that the damages will continue to occur in the extremes. Not acting magnifies risk in the same way as not wearing a seat belt or not having insurance,” Field added.

Since the 1970s, the Green Movement has been advocating the pro-environment ideologies to save the planet for future generations. The past few years have seen an active participation from the public as well as corporations in planting and protecting forests to reduce the effects of global warming across the world. Corporate Social Responsibilities are now geared towards “green” activities from coastal clean-ups to tree planting activities. However, the sincerity of these activities is still questionable as the same companies are the major contributors to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that drastically change the climate.

But, can planting trees alone save us and the planet?

Forests play an important role in climate change. Forests act as “carbon sinks” that absorb large amount of carbon dioxide from the air and keeps it on the ground by turning it into plants and trees. With the help of the sun’s energy, the CO2 captured by the plants and trees are converted into “biomass”.

A report by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2004 showed the benefits of tree-planting. Around 1.1 to 1.6 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide can be removed from the atmosphere per year.

It is true that the climate has been changing since time immemorial, but human activities have sped the process up and in turn, the climate changed drastically. The degradation and the destruction of the forests greatly contribute to the increasing temperature and the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. The economy, especially of third world countries, also aid in the diminishing numbers of forests. Global deforestation continues at around 13 million hectares per year. To date, only 30% of the planet is covered by forests.

Humans produce between 8 and 9 billion tonnes of CO2 each year, half of which stays in the atmosphere. The same IPCC special-report showed that there were 50 gigatonnes of CO2 in the atmosphere in 2004. At the current rate of CO2 production, add the dwindling forest areas, the planet will be unlivable in less than a century.

Planting trees alone cannot save the planet. Even covering the entire planet with trees will not reverse the adverse effects of climate change. Major changes in how you live your life is vital to saving the planet.

The lifestyle of consumption and excess contributes greatly to the reduction of forest areas and the increase in greenhouse gas. For example, more than 40 percent of all food produced in America is not eaten, according to a research conducted by Timothy Jones, a former anthropologist in University of California. That is about 29 million tons of food waste each year. The amount of resources used, from agriculture to packaging, eats away the planet. Even the landfills add tonnes of CO2 in the atmosphere each year. This is only the tip of the iceberg as corporations across all industries also help the degradation of the planet.

Restoring the balance of the planet will take a lot from everyone. Changes must happen from households to companies to reverse the effects of humans to the environment. The effects of climate change are getting harder and harder to ignore and the younger generation is facing a bleak future if the current mindset of people does not change.