Planting Trees to Take On Climate Change Isn’t as Easy as Youtubers Might Think

Ryan Famiglietti

After a project by the Youtube community was started to plant 20 million trees by the end of 2019, many people are questioning how beneficial this will actually be. The main issue they are trying to combat is climate change, and by reaching their goal of 20 million, that could help a great deal. The Youtubers have joined forces by creating a group called team trees, and they each have their own methods of trying to achieve this goal. The main idea for this project is to have the Youtube community band together and combat climate change. It is through climate change and the reasons to study ecology that this topic relates to the course. This can also relate to ecological tipping points, because the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is very close to levels that would be unsuitable for life, and by planting these trees, we would be lowering atmospheric carbon from the tipping point back towards safe areas. While the article likes to talk poorly about the Youtubers’ efforts, I firmly believe that they are doing the right thing. One smart decision they made was to find help from the community. This will allow them to get the proper funding for a large scale project like this. I also like that they decided to fund a nonprofit organization, Arbor Day Foundation, who specialize in planting trees with a high rate of survivability. The effort is something that this generation of human beings has never seen before, and in the first few days alone team trees has already gotten to over a quarter of their original goal. I believe due to the large percentage of caring people in the audience who care about Earth, and the low price of a donation, they will achieve and even succeed their goal. And while this is a great first step, I believe the Youtube community needs to capitalize on this movement and try to also lower carbon emissions in the near future. Since they do have a large amount of influence due to their platform, they can bring about a much larger change then most people could imagine. And since Youtubers of many different genres and backgrounds are getting involved, millions of people will be involved and will be looking to get behind this cause. And while this is a great start, there are more steps that must be taken to truly save the Earth. I believe that ultimately this will help us in the future.

Article Credits
 https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2019/10/25/20932700/youtubers-climate-change-team-trees

Image Credits
https://images.app.goo.gl/dXjkV9coGK8arkZQ9