Video | How Trees Can Save the Earth

I love our planet. It’s simply beautiful and many of my favorite memories revolve around nature. I think about the time I used to sit under my grandmother’s oak tree. I think about all the time I have spent gardening. I love getting my hands dirty. I think about storms in the summer, especially the excitement that comes just before the storm breaks. I think about the spring blooms and the grey in fall, the contrast between seasons. It’s just all so incredible.

Unfortunately there is a lot changing in a very short amount of time. We are cutting down an extraordinary number of trees. Something like one soccer field's worth of trees is cut down every 2 seconds. We are losing a lot of our water, the drinking water we need to survive. We have 37 aquifers here on this planet, and something like 21 of them are being used faster than they can be replenished. Our topsoil is disappearing. Over the last 200 years, more than half of our topsoil has been swept out into our oceans. We are putting a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. And one that is particularly sad for me: we’ve lost the majority of all animal life here on planet earth. World Wildlife Foundation says something like 60% of all animals, insects, and birds are now gone.

So when I think about these things, it really makes me feel overwhelmed. But there is hope. Nature gives us solutions on how to deal with these problems. And one of the most powerful tools for doing so are trees.

If we can care for the trees we have now and plant new trees, we can begin solving our issues with drinking water and with topsoil. We can begin providing habitat for biodiversity; we can sequester carbon. There is so much we can do. And while we are at it, let us care for our soils. Let’s ditch the chemicals; let’s do what nature has been doing for a millennia. Let's promote natural ecosystems.

Because at the end of the day, we are all in this together. We know that if we can create good for all life on earth and if we can be stewards of our shared resources, then we can overcome these problems. And we can create a brighter future for humans and for all of life on earth.

Abundant healthy trees create happy people and a vibrant planet.