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When you think of trees…well…do you ever really think
of trees? You are probably under the impression that the only people who
think of trees are tree huggers and politicians. That may be true, but
today we are going to give you some good reasons to think about trees.
That sounds boring right? Well, it’s not! You just have to trust us!
Trees are one of those things that, although you probably don’t give
them much thought, you can’t live without them. If it weren’t for trees
and forests, our world would not be a habitable place to live in. They
convert the carbon dioxide into oxygen so that our air remains
breathable. The problems is, that the number of trees in many parts of
the world have decreased drastically. It’s not all bad news though! Did
you know that the United States actually has more trees today than it
did in the past? It’s true. With good leadership from the government it
is possible to counter the negative effects of deforestation. The only
challenge is passing such laws in countries with corrupt governments.
These are some tree-rific tree facts that prove how cool they are!
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Columbia University has developed a tree that is 1,000 times more
effective at absorbing CO2 than a regular tree
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California is home to some of the world's
oldest trees. Some of them are more than 5,000 years old!
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The locations of some of the oldest trees are kept secret to prevent
people from damaging them
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Leonardo Da Vinci was the first person to note that all of a tree's
branches put together would equal the thickness of the tree's trunk.
Modern science is trying to show why this is true (for the most part) |
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During the 1930s, Nazis planted a tree shaped swastika that was only
discovered in 1992 during an aerial survey. Residents promptly cut down
the trees (swastikas are illegal in Germany)
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Nearly 96% of ancient redwood trees have been cut down. These trees are
among the oldest and tallest trees left on Earth.
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Over 1000 years ago, the islands of Venice were built on trees, but
because the trees are submerged they do not rot. In fact, minerals in
the water have been gradually calcifying them into stone
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On the island of Tana Toraja in Indonesia, if a baby dies the villagers
will cut a hole into a tree, lay the baby inside, and let the tree grow
back around it.
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Sandbox trees are covered in poisonous spikes and can
shoot their fruits at over 250km!
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The US has more trees now than it has ever had in the
past 100 years. This is because starting in the 1940s deforestation
rates have been lower than forest growth rates.
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Since the 1980s, every Chinese citizen over the age of
11 has been legally mandated to plant at least 3 trees every single year
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Hawaii has eucalyptus trees with rainbow bark!
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Manchineel trees, found in Florida, are often considered the most
poisonous trees in the world. Their fruits can kill you and even if you
just stand beneath it while it is raining you will probably get some
nasty blisters
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