Which is why I am wondering why US states don't invest more into one of the easiest ways to counter global warming.
The United States' National Highway System includes over 164,000 miles of highways. This picture shows a section of Route 66.
Notice something?
NO TREES!
The land between the highway lanes belongs to the taxpayers hence it could be used to do something good for the taxpayers.
Let's assume not all 164,000 miles are suitable for planting trees. Let's run the numbers for only twenty percent of highway miles.
Twenty percent of 164,000 amounts to 3,280.
Multiply this number by 5,280 to come up with stretches of land 17,318,400 feet long, all of it between highways.
This land does not have to purchased, it can be put to good use right away.
If the (US) states' governments would plant one tree every 20 feet that would amount to 346,368 trees.
Does the number 346,368 sound like "a lot of trees"?
It isn't.
346,368 trees is less than nine percent (8.66%) of the number of trees that died during the Texas drought, in 2011.
Please see: Energy and Environment Reporting for Texas: Over 300 Million trees were killed by the Texas Drought. (No doubt, the loss of 300 million trees had an impact on the Unites States' weather.)
Sounds too complicated to take care of 346,368 young trees?
It isn't.
In the event of a drought happening when the trees are still young and vulnerable they can be watered from trucks.
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| This picture was taken in Thailand. |
Every time I go to the home improvement store I see nice young trees in the fifteen dollar range. I am sure the state governments can get a better price.
Too time intense?
I planted two trees this year. Though I am fifty-six and didn't use sophisticated equipment but only a shovel, I planted each tree in under ten minutes.
Not enough manpower?
Let inmates do the job. They'd probably be delighted to spend time outside of prison walls and do something constructive.
In other words – where there is a will, there is a way.
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Planting trees is an investment into the future.
Trees
- produce oxygen,
- intercept airborne particulates,
- reduce smog,
- absorb and block sound and reduce noise pollution by as much as 40 percent.
And, once established, they "work for free" for decades to come.
"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."-- Chinese Proverb
Do you see new trees getting planted in your hometown, neighborhood, county, and/or state? Please share in the comment section.
Share if you want your state government to plant trees.
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Gisela Hausmann is multi-award winning author, an email evangelist, and mass media expert. Her work has been featured in Success magazine and in Entrepreneur, on Bloomberg, and The Innovation Show ― a show for Square Pegs in Round Holes.Her latest book is the fable, "Are We Nuts?"
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© 2018 by Gisela Hausmann
Loved this post! Superb breakdown of the potential problems.
ReplyDeleteThank you @Manohar :)) thank you very much.
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