Friday, February 01, 2008

Calculate Your Effect on the Environment

The Personal Climate Change Calculator is an easy to use tool which will help you measure your climate-affecting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. After calculating your carbon footprint, you will be presented with a convenient option for offsetting these emissions by making a donation to plant trees in one of AMERICAN FORESTS Global ReLeaf forest restoration projects. Each tree costs just $1 and is “planted” with the click of a mouse.

Why plant trees? According to AmericanForests.org, during photosynthesis, a tree "inhales" CO2 from the air and then separates the carbon from the oxygen molecules. The carbon is absorbed by the tree, which then "exhales" pure oxygen back into the air for us to breathe. This process, called sequestration is how forests have always helped regulate the earth's atmospheric balance. Trees, then, are natural regulators of the Earth's atmospheric balance, sequestering carbon and reducing the amount of carbon dioxide that builds up in the atmosphere. The less excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the lower the "greenhouse effect," and the less chance that we will suffer the devastating weather effects associated with a rapid shift in our planet's climate.

Plant a tree. Breathe deeply!

No comments: