Tree Extinction
By: Paul Payne
Are Trees Going Extinct?
About 900,000,000 trees are cut down every year. From tropical rain forests to temperate deciduous forests, no trees anywhere are left untouched. Why are trees important? Trees are important because they produce oxygen, absorb carbon, and clean the air.
Oxygen Producers
Trees are major producers of oxygen. One tree produces about 260 pounds of oxygen each year, which is also enough oxygen for a family of four to live on.(chemistry.about.com) Trees produce oxygen when they convert carbon dioxide into clean water, to be stored, and oxygen that they release into the air. Without the oxygen that trees produce, we humans would not be here today.
Carbon Sinks
Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere around them. Carbon dioxide is an ever-present greenhouse gas that is absorbed into trees by a process called photosynthesis. Greenhouse gases are gases that are released into the air when fossil fuels are burned and that get trapped into the atmosphere and keep heat inside our world, causing global warming. That is why trees are important to our environment.
Air Refresheners
Trees clean the air. Trees intercept airborne particles, reduce heat,and they absorb a wide variety of air pollutants: carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Trees make this possible by lowering the temperature using respiration, a process in living organisms involving energy, and the intake of breath. (forestry.about.com) The air we breathe is cleaner and less polluted because of trees.
What We Can Do
Trees are important because they produce oxygen, absorb carbon, and they clean the air. We may not be able to stop people from cutting down trees, but we can conserve the trees. We can reuse paper, recycle, and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide we release into the air. Planting trees is another good idea. Trees are important and they are essential.