Trees are the answer, but what are the questions?

Have you ever seen this bumper sticker, “Trees Are the Answer?”  It was created by the Society of American Foresters.  Do you know what the questions are?  I came up with 10 and posted them below.

1.     What provides us with products and goods we depend on every day? Managed forests are a sustainable source of environmentally friendly wood and wood products….material to build and furnish homes and paper products.  Trees are renewable, recyclable, and biodegradable.

2.     What protects our rivers and streams and provides us with clean water?

Trees and forests reduce runoff, prevent erosion, filter pollutants, and cool waters with their shade.  Forested watersheds provide millions of people with fresh drinking water.

3.     What helps you save on your heating and cooling costs?

Trees provide shade in the summer and wind breaks in the winter, minimizing our heating and cooling costs.  Trees increase property values by 15% or more.

4.     What helps us address climate change and global warming?

Forests moderate global climate change by capturing and storing atmospheric carbon.  Planting and growing trees and using trees in durable products helps offset carbon emissions.

5.     What helps clean the air we breath?

Forests produce oxygen and help clean the air we breath.  To grow 1 pound of wood, a tree uses about 1.5 pounds of C02 and produces about 1 pound of 02.

6.     What can provide us with a clean, sustainable source of energy?

Woody biomass can provide us with a clean, renewable source of energy through direct combustion or through conversion to liquid fuels.

7.     What plays a vital part in our nation’s economy?

100’s of thousands are employed in forest related jobs providing billions of dollars to the nation’s economy.  The US Dept. of Labor estimates that there are more than 30,000 jobs just in forestry and conservation, many in rural areas and impacting local economies.

8.     What provides habitat for many species of wildlife?

Trees and forests of different ages provide many animal species with places to live.  Both managed and unmanaged forest ecosystems are vital for the survival of the animals that live there.  The diversity of animals found in the forest is only as diverse as the forest landscape itself.

9.     What provides many recreational opportunities?

Trees and forests make recreation more scenic and enjoyable, whether you’re into hiking, camping, and biking or bird watching and photography.

10.  What do we have as much of today as we did 100 years ago? 

For the past 100 years, the amount of forestland in the US has remained relatively stable at around 755 million acres.

I believe Trees are the answer to all these questions.  That was just 10 questions.  Can anyone come up with any others?