By John Spagnoli
Climate change is a serious problem that continues to affect our way of life. There now are more droughts, incredible unusually high temperatures, wildfires like those ravaging California due to dry conditions, which have displaced thousands of people. Storms are more severe, causing billions in damages and the ice caps are melting at an alarming rate with inevitable flooding. Shore-lined beaches and homes will be have a major problem with flooding.
Farmers are faced with many different weather conditions as well, forcing them to develop new varieties in their crops to allow for a successful productions. Genetically modified plants will even be needed in some cases to grow enough food if crops can’ provide, which will lead to a very serious problem.
So what can be done? The earth works in an ecosystem in which everyone plays a part keeping the planet healthy. Reducing car emissions, conserving water, recycling and composting as well as planting trees, are all simple tasks that people can start with.
We can achieve equilibrium by planting trees, which can help balance out our earth. Trees should not be cut down if avoidable as some species of trees can be hundreds of years old. Trees usually take a long time to grow into a massive size. Of course, a smaller tree does it on a smaller scale but is still valuable for the earth as a whole. Smaller trees remove about 13 pounds of carbon per year.
If your space is limited, try a small flowering pear or cherry not only do they bloom beautifully but also helps the environment. A crabapple tree has nice flowers and produce small apples that can eaten by animals. The crabapples that are not eaten will go back into the earth, improving the soil. I would recommend researching different trees and if you love wildlife, choose a tree that provides food and shelter to a decreasing population
of birds.
As for carbon dioxide, scientists have been working for years on methods of reducing carbon dioxide from the air. The research involves farming as they figure out how to reduce the carbon footprint. The hope is different plants would be able to reduce carbon dioxide at a high rate.
We can only reverse the climate change from happening by being more proactive. Planting trees and other plants are great ideas for climate change but not the solution as plants will not solve the climate change by itself. Consider looking into the many nonprofit organizations that are working on planting trees, such as the Arbor Day Foundation.
We all live on this planet and we all must do our part to protect it.
