Organizations Moving Toward Sustainability
Green is good for business and the future of our planet! We should all be striving to leave a smaller footprint.
When it comes to their business practices more and more companies are becoming proactive and are more involved in energy conservation and sustainability.
Our health and well-being relies on the health and well-being of our planet. By protecting the earth’s precious natural resources (human and natural) we are taking steps that will ensure a legacy of conservation and sustainability for future generations.
Organizations need to implement ways to balance corporate customs with earthly responsibilities. By collaborating with likeminded companies that demonstrate their potential for growth and conduct their business in an environmentally sustainable manner you will cultivate a company that is improving a business model while at the same time helping the environment.
Whenever possible, companies should take a step further by integrating measures using renewable energy. Renewable energy utilizes natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat, which are all naturally replenished. Renewable energy technologies range from solar power, wind power and hydroelectricity to biomass and biofuels for transportation.
Reducing contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, or the carbon footprint, is one huge step toward sustainability.
One EPA study concluded that using one ton of 100% recycled paper saves 4,100 kwh of energy (enough to power the average home for six months) and 7,000 gallons of water. It also keeps more than 60 pounds of pollution out of the air and saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space. Paper industry representatives have estimated that one ton of recycled paper saves about 17 trees.
Whether it’s a commitment to using environmentally preferable materials or substances, wind powered renewable energy by off-setting electricity use with 100% wind power, utilizing 100% recycled paper or seeking out partnerships with sustainable herb sources, some organizations are going to great lengths to bring an eco-friendly venue to the workplace.
Trees For The Future (http://www.treesftf.org) is an agroforestry resource center that helps people in developing countries improve their rural livelihoods through the introduction of environmentally sustainable land management projects with a focus on beneficial tree planting. They actively educate students and communities about energy efficiency, global issues and our role in the environment.
Global warming is the increase in the Earth’s average surface air and ocean temperatures. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas responsible for the rise in these temperatures around the world.
By giving trees to be planted you can help seed our future. You will be directly helping to reduce the effects of global climate change. Planting trees by participating in our reforestation campaign enables you to not only help protect the environment you will also be helping to protect and preserve time-honored livelihoods and cultures for future generations.
Environmental Impact of Deforestation
The World Resources Institute considers deforestation one of the world’s most pressing land-use problems.
Deforestation leads to several community and environmental problems. Looming consequences such as loss of various forms of life that inhabit the planet, destruction of forest-based-societies and climatic disruption are eminent dangers all of us need to acknowledge.
The two largest surviving regions of rain forest are in Brazil and Indonesia. They are being stripped at an alarming rate by logging, fires and land-clearing for agricultural use and cattle-grazing.
According to the World Resources Institute, more than 80 percent of the Earth’s natural forests have already been destroyed and since 1900 up to 90% of West Africa’s coastal rain forests have disappeared.
Soil Erosion
Currently soil erosion is one of the most prevalent environmental problems. Accelerated soil erosion by water or wind may affect agricultural areas as well as natural environments. Soil is lost due to the deficiency of the protective cover of vegetation. This is a direct result of our negligent actions. Logging, overgrazing or improper farming practices are leaving the land unprotected and vulnerable. Trees help prevent erosion and landslides which in turn helps to enrich and nourish the soil.
A solution must be reached
Our actions and the choices we make today have the ability to make or break the future of our planet. Though this generation may not immediately encounter or suffer the effects of deforestation the next generation and their children will likely be the ones who not only bear the burden but suffer the consequences. Take steps to prevent soil erosion by keeping soil healthy. Soil rich in organic matter is less susceptible to getting washed or swept away. Whenever possible, switch to renewable energy sources such as water, wind or solar power. Plant trees to offset the carbon dioxide we are producing. Photosynthesis allows trees to take CO2 out of the air, replacing it with oxygen. Planting trees is the most cost-effective way to take CO2 out of the atmosphere.
Seed Our Future
Give a tree to be planted and become part of a campaign to help reduce the effects of global climate change. Planting trees in honor of or in remembrance of someone is the perfect choice for any occasion. Every Seed Our Future campaign gift can be customized to suit any event or special occasions.
Planting trees by participating in our reforestation campaign enables you to not only help protect the environment you will also be helping to protect and preserve time-honored livelihoods and cultures for future generations.
Deforestation
Deforestation
Immediate and long-term consequences of global deforestation will have ill effects and most certainly jeopardize life on Earth.
Forests are structured to help maintain a delicate balance in nature. With our current industrial practices, ranching, farming and logging we are causing the destruction of forests. These actions are directly jeopardizing the very important and much needed balance forests provide.
It Just Comes Natural
Trees naturally help improve the quality of the air that all living things breathe. Trees trap carbon and particles that are produced by pollution. Trees cool and regulate the earth’s climate. Trees determine rainfall and replenish the atmosphere. Water put back into the atmosphere forms clouds which then provide yet another way to block out heat from the sun.
While all consequences of deforestation pose impending threats, one more serious consequence is that of climate change caused by destruction or loss of trees. Earth’s atmosphere contains a variety of gases. Carbon dioxide is an insulating gas which helps moderate heat loss to outer space. Insulating gases such as this are referred to as “greenhouse” gases. They function like the glass in a greenhouse. They trap and hold solar heat. Greenhouse gases include methane, chlorofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide, and ozone. When there are additional greenhouse gases there will be gradual increases in temperature on the surface of the earth which can lead to changes in weather patterns, sea levels and other cycles in nature that also directly impact life on Earth.
Seed Our Future
Seed Our Future – give a tree to be planted in a reforestation project and become part of a campaign to help reduce the effects of global climate change.