Like most Americans, I’m trying to be nicer to my planet. I want to leave this world in better shape than when I got here. But the more I’ve read about carbon offsets and people buying carbon credits when they take a trip or buy an SUV, the more cynical I’ve become about some of these large-scale programs. It’s sort of like “checkbook environmentalism.”
I decided that I could be an environmental activist when I walk out my own doorstep. I checked it out, and planting (and caring for) trees, bushes, turf and other plants in my own yard make an enormous difference. For example, the average American family needs to plant 30 trees to offset the carbon dioxide produced by their daily energy use. That’s pretty good! And just one tree “traps” 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide during its lifetime. When you think about it -- it’s common sense. After all, the basic concept of photosynthesis is that a plant absorbs sunlight and carbon dioxide and emits oxygen.
So I’ve set about the task of increasing the greenery in my own yard. It’s my own little science project to protect Mother Earth.