If We Plant 1 TRILLION Trees Can We Stop Climate Change?

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Can trees really save us from climate change? For eons, nature has relied on photosynthesis as a big way to keep carbon dioxide levels from getting out of control. But as we have put more carbon into the air, we’ve also cut down many of the forests we need to suck that carbon up. So big tree-planting initiatives like #TeamTrees to the rescue, right? Actually, we need to think bigger. Here’s three ways trees really can help us solve climate change, from a guy who wants to plant a TRILLION trees, to how we might save the forests we’ve got, to scientists hacking biology to make trees even better.

Special thanks to Felix Finkbeiner

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[TommoCarroll]

Dude! Thanks so much for giving a little nod to my little channel! As a fan of yours for YEARS this is really amazing. :) ✌️

[Master_Therion]

Planting trees is one way to... spruce up our planet.

[appa]

teamtrees: 20 million trees!

this guy: Cool now do that 50, 000 times

[MyLastSong]

I’ve planted over 50 trees on my property. Not only did it drastically reduce the temps but gave so many creatures a habitat where there was none before. If everyone who had the space did the same we could plant that trillion with not much effort

[ChrisGilliamOffGrid]

Plant fruit and nut trees in your yard, the ultimate in local food.

[JJ-devf]

I literally shed a tear when he mentioned Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan woman who was so passionate about tree planting and the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Sadly she passed on a few years ago but she led a life worth emulating. Btw am from Kenya, hakuna matata🇰🇪❤️

[DinoCon]

Everyone wants to reuse and recycle, but few people want to reduce.

And that's the biggest problem.

[thelongtony]

I have already planted 8 trees at the garden of my home, all of them natural of the region I live: the Brazilian cerrado. And I intend to plant at least more two next year. Most of them produces fruits to attract the local fauna, specially birds.
I also plan to instal a system to reuse water in my house in the next 5 years. By now, I have already installed solar panels to reduce our electricity demand.

[aatt]

Also, protecting the Amazon rainforest NOW, is a must. The biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest is not something that can be generated instantly by planting 21 million trees.

[Julika]

I just watch the German film "The secret of trees" in the cinema. One of the most important points is to not only plant any tree anywhere but a type that naturally grows there and also let it grow in a forest for decades or better centuries, not use them as wood plants.

[tommunyon]

I surrounded my house with trees and shrubs even though my lot is small. I'm always astounded when I see a home on a large lot with narry a tree in sight.

[oeeveemkittygfreak]

In Quebec, it is law that every house MUST have a tree on its property. It'd be nice if other people adopted this law.. sure it's just a single tree per house, but it definitely helps. :)

[callmejeffrey]

We need to protect the Coral reefs and the Planktons!

[jacobopstad]

"Reduce" has always been my favorite of the three Rs.

[TrippelSrules]

Durable usage of wood is also good for keeping CO2 out of the atmosphere, this means if you do cut trees, instead of burning the wood, keep the wood as furniture or housing materials so it keeps the carbon stored. Of course you can (and should) replant the trees again for capturing more afterwards.

[mkroon]

Good to see others are starting to get on board. I've been planting trees since I was 8, I'm now 54. Make sure you plant a variety of trees.

[johnlarson]

plant hemp. hemp sequesters four times the co2 per acre of trees. has multiple uses from food, clothing and construction. grows to maturity in sixth months

[LimeyWatson]

I love this. Trees = great. But as someone currently working in land conservation and in partnership with federal and state land managers, I wish this pro-trees conversation could include a little more nuisance. I'm so tired of hearing that we need to stop cutting down trees. My work centers largely on fire mitigation and invasive species removal, both of which involve cutting down trees FOR THE GOOD OF THE PLANET. We cannot find enough funds or enough people to do this important work of keeping our forests and ecosystems healthy and it's a problem no one knows about. If you plant a tree in an over-crowded forest or plant an invasive tree, it could be more detrimental than doing nothing. I also get that this might be too much nuisance when our world is burning, but I reserve the right to be annoyed by it.

[jerrinschannel]

I did the math and if each one of us in the world plant 150 trees then we will get to one trillion trees!

#teamtrees

[behrozkhan]

Pakistan has planted 1 billion trees and is planting 10 billion more so if almost every country does it it will make a huge change.