Posted by: willem van cotthem | April 23, 2008

Planting a tree helps the planet (Canada / The Gazette)

Read at : Google Alert - gardening

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/homefront/story.html?id=0ca8b7e1-7802-47fd-b621-93e5a39e0a4a

Planting a tree - or any plant - helps the planet

Edmonton Journal

How does gardening figure into the carbon credit issue?  Well, the “plant a tree; save the planet” principle, although simplistic, has a fair bit of merit. A tree is about 45-per-cent carbon. Therefore, a 100-kilogram tree contains about 45 kilograms of carbon that’s not floating around in our atmosphere. Trees draw in carbon dioxide from the air that we breathe and, with the aid of the sun’s energy, convert the carbon dioxide into a myriad of compounds. The bigger the tree, the more carbon that’s tied up in its tissues.

The basic principle to keep in mind is when it comes to keeping carbon out of the air we breathe, sowing or transplanting any plant is always better than not planting at all. The other side of the carbon credit/gardening issue is the offsetting of food transportation.

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