Digital Media Blog 12/12/2019

Digital Media Blog

12/12/2019

Current issues #8

US cities are losing 36 million trees a year. 

According to CNN trees cover in US cities are shrinking. A study published last year by the US Forest Service found that we lost 36 million trees annually from urban and rural communities over a five-year period. That's a 1% drop from 2009 to 2014. If we continue on this path, "cities will become warmer, more polluted and generally more unhealthy for inhabitants," said David Nowak, a senior US Forest Service scientist and co-author of the study. Nowak says there are many reasons our tree canopy is declining, including hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, insects, and disease. But the one reason for tree loss that humans can control is sensible development. 

Why does it matter if the planet doesn't have trees and how can we prevent that？here are Nowak lists 10 benefits trees provide to society: Heat reduction: Trees provide shade for homes, office

buildings, parks and roadways, cooling surface temperatures. 

Air pollution reduction: Trees absorb carbon and remove pollutants from the atmosphere. Energy emissions reduction: Trees reduce energy costs by $4 billion a year, according to Nowak's study. "The shading of those trees on buildings reduce your air conditioning costs. Take those trees away; now your buildings are heating up, you're running your air conditioning more, and you're burning more fuel from the power plants, so the pollution and emissions go up." Water quality improvement: Trees act as water filters, taking in dirty surface water and absorbing nitrogen and phosphorus into the soil. Flooding reduction: Trees reduce flooding by absorbing water and reducing runoff into streams. Noise reduction: Trees can deflect sound, one reason you'll see them lining highways, along fences and between roads and neighborhoods. They can also add sound through birds chirping and the wind blowing through leaves, noises that have shown psychological benefits. Protection from UV radiation: Trees absorb 96% of ultraviolet radiation, Nowak says. Improved human health: Many studies have found connections between exposure to nature and better mental and physical health. Some hospitals have added tree views and plantings for patients as a result of these studies. Doctors are even prescribing walks in nature for children and families due to evidence that nature exposure lowers blood pressure and stress hormones. And studies have associated living near green areas with lower death rates. Wildlife habitat: Birds rely on trees for shelter, food, and nesting. Worldwide, forests provide for a huge diversity of animal life.