THE
earth is sitting on a ticking time bomb.
So says Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary,
An Inconvenient Truth. It paints a doomsday scenario
of global warming and encourages everyone to help
reduce CO2 emissions. After all, as the most significant greenhouse gas that
causes global warming, CO2 is a major by-product of human activities.
The documentary’s website, climatecrisis.net, lists small, doable actions
that individuals could perform to minimize carbon dioxide emission. Logically,
the list includes—Surprise! Surprise!—planting a tree.
That’s why last March
10, volunteers from all over
Metro Manila took part in a
simultaneous tree-planting
activity in three different
parts of the metropolis.
The Lasallian Institute for
the Environment (LIFE) started
its year with the 2007 Green
for Life Kick-off Tree Planting
event which was held at selected
sites
within Manila, Pasig, and Muntinlupa. From 6:30 to 11:30 a.m., 1,128 seedlings
of Bangkal, Putat, Botong, Agoho, Hagimit, Tibig, Kawayan tinik, Guijo, Narra,
Talisay, and Duhat were planted on the three sites designated by LIFE’s
environment experts and foresters.
LIFE will also monitor the progress of each tree planted on the site.
The tree-planting activity
is in line with LIFE’s goal to plant one million
trees throughout the country by 2011. This is their organization’s response
to the widespread deforestation in the Philippines, which has been causing
numerous environmental problems, landslides and global warming.
To help slow climate change, numerous cities around the world have also been
doing their own shade brigade for years now.
In Sacramento, California,
residents can receive up to
10 free trees from the Sacramento
Municipal Utility District
upon request. In Madagascar,
forest conservation
has become its government’s top political priority.
Similarly, conservation groups
have taken interest in restoring
the Philippines’ Sierra
Madre biological corridor, which is home to some 400 species of wildlife, with
153 native to the area.
In Mt. Palay-palay in Maragondon, Cavite, about 280 hectares of land have been
earmarked by LIFE and the local community for restoration since it is facing
serious threats of deforestation.
According to climatecrisis.net, a single tree can absorb a ton of carbon dioxide
over its lifetime. Though planting trees alone will not stop global warming,
a million trees could give humans more time to adjust to an environment-friendly
lifestyle before it becomes too late. |
