Day Of The Tree 2018

July 13, 2018

Day Of The Tree 2018

Basking In The Sun

Since 1959, every second Thursday of July in Mexico the Day Of The Tree is observed and as a little homage to these beings that make life possible in this planet, I'd like to talk about the virtues of trees and why is it so important to plant and take care of as much of them as possible.

The virtues and benefits of a tree

They produce the oxygen we breathe, which makes life possible on this planet.
They absorb carbon dioxide from the environment, which is the leading cause of climate change.
They regulate the environment temperature.
They purify they air we breathe; trees remove nitrogen oxide, ammonia, sulfur dioxide, and ozone from the environment and change it for oxygen.
They regulate and improve the ground on which they're planted.
They offer food and shelter to animals in different ecosystems.
They provide shade for sunny or rainy days.
They provide fruits, which most of them are edible.
A tree can reduce the temperature between 2 and 10 degrees Celsius in the area around them.
When there is a pocket big enough of them, they can actually attract rain clouds to their location.
They act as a natural barrier against wind and dust.
They can also be a lightning rod if necessary.
They reduce the impact caused by noise pollution.
They increase the added value of real estate in some cases (although this might depend from country to country).
They absorb rainfall, thus preventing water from stagnating after a flood.
They add beauty to any landscape.
During an emergency in the outdoors, they can act as an emergency shelter.

When was the last time you saw a human being do any of these things?

Aguanaval Guardians

Unfortunately, as a species we have become arrogant and therefore we think that we don't need the environment and that we can control nature; that it is there to serve us and we don't have to do anything to preserve it.

We couldn't be more wrong, because it's that mindset that has us within the threshold of extinction.

That's why its necessary to plant and take care of as many trees as possible within our immediate environment. The more trees the planet has within it, we can start to reverse the damage we've done and prevent that it repeats ever again.

If you need a demonstration of just how bad it can get without trees, take a look at what has happened in the United States in recent years: the forest fires in California kill thousands of trees each year and without those trees, the air gets dryer, that causes droughts and droughts increase the overall temperature in the environment, thus causing more forest fires.

In Mexico City, rains are becoming a problem due to the fact that a lot of trees have been removed in order to build skyscrapers and other buildings, this has reduced the available ground for rain to be absorbed since concrete and asphalt don't do that. This has resulted that every time it rains, most of the city is flooded because the water has very few points to seep underground. When it rains heavily (like in hurricane season), big avenues become rivers due to how much water it rains and has nowhere to go but down the streets.

That's why a tree is a friend and companion, guardian and protector, it is there for us day and night. All it wants in return from us is our respect and care.