Plant 20 Trees this Year, Be Carbon Neutral + 4 More Reasons to Plant a Tree Today

Trees are amazing. Go plant one.

By Josh Peterson
Los Angeles, CA, USA | Jun 08, 2009

There are about one million great reasons to plant a tree. You can use them to build houses, make paper and canoes from them, swing from them and some will yield fruit. So if you're not doing anything at the moment and have some time available, you should go outside and plant a tree.

And if you have to ask why? Then I have five great, green answers for you.

5 Green Reasons to Plant a Tree (like you really need one!)

Trees Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
A tree will process about one ton of carbon dioxide in its lifetime. That's not a whole lot. That's only about 5% of your annual footprint. But if you were to plant twenty trees a year, you'd essentially negate your footprint for the year. That is, of course, if you are an average emitter of carbon.
Trees Lower Your Energy Costs
Trees planted strategically around the home can cool the home in the summer and provide protection from the wind in the winter. You can also use trees to shade your air conditioner. This will increase your AC unit’s energy efficiency by 10%.

"The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day."—U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Trees Provide Cleaner Water
Like a rain garden, trees can reduce runoff pollution, a major source of water quality degradation. Trees are most effective at reducing runoff pollution during small storms. A single tree can capture 2380 gallons of water a year. Trees catch the rain in their canopy and release it, clean and fresh, back into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration. Trees also bolster against runoff erosion.
Trees Prevent Erosion
Trees act as windbreaks. On farms, trees are used to preserve that precious, precious topsoil. They also protect buildings from wind damage and flying debris. In the winter, trees will keep the snow from building up on the side of the house.
Trees Provide Greater Air Quality
A mature tree can remove up to 240 lbs of particulate and gas pollution in a year. Tree canopies in cities can also lower smog levels by 6%.