1. Research shows trees make us happier and healthier
Trees form a wonderful backdrop for all types of outdoor fun. However, research routinely shows that trees have mental and physical health benefits. Trees can help reduce the amount of antidepressants used in urban areas, and spending time around them can help reduce stress.
2. Trees are natural air conditioning in a warming world
Streets with trees are cooler than streets without, thanks to the shade and transpiration they provide. However, in broader terms, trees also sequester carbon from the atmosphere and combat climate change. Indeed, research suggests that trees also help encourage cloud formation.
3. Trees support all life, directly and indirectly
Globally, 300 million people live in forests. More than one billion humans also rely on these ecosystems for their livelihoods. Humans aren’t the only ones who benefit: forests are complex ecological webs, and trees provide homes and food for other species large and small.
4. Trees make medicines we don’t even know we need yet
For eons, humans have made remedies from plants, including trees. For instance, willow bark was used as a kind of early Aspirin. More recently, a compound based on one from the soapbark tree was used as an adjuvant—which boosts the body’s immune reaction—in vaccines.
5. We build our world with trees
Timber is widely used to make homes and other structures around the world. While it is essential to use sustainable practices in logging and processing, these practices provide a great many jobs globally, and the products that come from them are essential parts of construction.
6. We eat and drink from trees
Many different parts of various trees are edible, and find their ways into our food systems. Fruits and nuts are widely consumed, of course, but humans also consume products made from the sap of trees, or even the bark in some cases.
7. Trees make the fibre of our lives
The world has a long history of turning plant like hemp or cotton into fibre. But trees can also be turned into materials that keep us warm and comfortable, such as tapa (a fabric made from pounded inner layers of bark). Some newer fibers are also produced using parts of trees.
8. Trees generate ecotourism opportunities
The world is full of beautiful and bizarre trees. The Amazon rainforest and all its trees, for instance, draw tourists in from around the world, as they hope to take in its natural beauty. Inasmuch as trees can draw people in, they can also provide jobs in tourism.
9. Trees can produce renewable fuel
As we continue to think of ways to power the planet, biofuels have arisen as an appealing option in some cases. Historically, biofuels have been made from things like corn. But plant matter from trees could also help out with "treethanol."
10. Save trees for their own sake, because they're beautiful
Trees provide so much for humans, from food and jobs to tourist destinations and mental health boosts. But one of the biggest reasons is simply because they’re living things, part of a complex and wonderful system we don’t wholly understand, but benefit from nonetheless.
Ultimately, it’s worthwhile to safeguard trees for their own sake.
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