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Table of Contents I. Announcements II. What's Happening? |
This Earth Day, go carbon-neutral. Lowering your carbon "debt"-the amount of carbon you put into the atmosphere from everyday activities like driving a car or running appliances-is on everyone's agenda. It's turning up on Oprah and on websites for companies like Shaklee and Green Mountain Energy. One way to remove that debt is by planting trees, which absorb and hold carbon-while releasing oxygen and doing other good-for-the-environment things like cleaning our air and water and preventing erosion. Use American Forests' carbon calculator to figure our your carbon debt, then plant trees online and pay off that debt. The average person needs to plant 30 trees a year. Check out what others are doing to reduce or eliminate their carbon debt: Green Mountain Energy, an Austin, Texas, provider of cleaner electricity products now offers a a portfolio of carbon reduction services. Among those: the option of reducing a company's carbon footprint by supporting forest sequestration projects. Natural nutrition company Shaklee has a goal of planting a million trees-and raising awareness of global climate change and the need to address it--in its largest-ever tree-planting campaign. It is urging distributors to calculate their carbon debt and then plant those trees with American Forests. Distributors also will organize tree-planting events in their communities. Shaklee was founded 50 years ago with a commitment to produce products that improve people's health without harming the planet. Learn more about A Million Trees, A Million Dreams. [Back to Top]2006 Global ReLeaf Forests Announced For the 17th year, American Forests is helping communities around the world restore their tree cover through its Global ReLeaf Forests program. In 2006, 1 million trees will be planted in projects ranging from Malaysian orangutan forest and Mexican monarch habitat to eagle habitat near Denver, a popular hiking, cross-country skiing, and hunting area in Wisconsin, and urban communities along an expressway in Illinois. Along the way, planting projects will ward off bark beetle damage in the San Bernardino Mountains of California and restore namesake species to West Virginia's Spruce Mountain. You can help! Plant trees for $1 a tree. See a complete list of projects. [Back to Top]2006-2007 National Register of Big Trees American Forests is preparing to release the newest edition of its beloved program that finds and catalogs the largest of 826 species of trees in the U.S. What's the biggest white oak? Where is the largest sugar maple? And just how big is that baldcypress in Mississippi? See it all online. [Back to Top]Plant a Tree for the Intimidator April 29 is Dale Earnhardt Day. Join American Forests and The Dale Earnhardt Foundation in celebrating the late famed racecar driver's environmental side. Earnhardt loved the outdoors, especially when he was hunting or fishing. The Dale Earnhardt Forest aims to spread his legacy by replenishing much-needed tree canopy in areas damaged by drought or natural disaster. Select middle schools also become Living Classrooms and receive software, lesson plans, and trees to help them map and measure the value of the trees on their campus or in their community. Learn more or plant trees. [Back to Top]
McDonald's Corporation, The Coca Cola Company, and Cincinnati Bell, Inc. have joined American Forests partner Computershare, the world's largest stock transfer agent, to plant trees while reducing paper consumption through e-delivery of shareholder materials. The eTree program reduces costs associated with printing and mailing shareholder materials. When one of those companies' shareholders registers, they receive their shareholder materials via e-mail and have a tree planted in an American Forests' Global ReLeaf Forest as a thank you. Learn more: www.etreeusa.com. [Back to Top]Clif Bar health snack company is planting trees on behalf of ski resorts that apply for the prestigious Golden Eagle Awards for Environmental Excellence, which recognize environmental achievements by ski areas. The awards are sponsored by Clif Bar & Co., the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Clif Bar also planted 10 trees in a Global ReLeaf Forest on behalf of each of the first 25 applicants. Clif Bar also has an ongoing Cool Commute program, which plants Global ReLeaf Forest trees to offset the "climate footprint" of its employees' commutes. In the past three years, that effort has planted more than 8,000 trees. The awards will be presented at the NSAA convention in May. Learn more about Clif Bar's environmental programs: www.clifbar.com/environment [Back to Top]From France comes a forward-thinking innovation for an environmentally-conscious world: French Rabbit, the French wine in unique 1 liter octagonal-shaped packaging with screw-top closures and label-free packaging. French Rabbit wines invite consumers to “savor the wine / save the planet.” French Rabbit packaging is lighter and easier to transport and store (reducing pollution) and the package is recyclable. Great for camping or patio. For every 4 liters of wine sold, American Forests will plant a tree. [Back to Top]Now you can help the planet when you answer your e-mail. PlanetSave.com offers free e-mail accounts that help conserve rainforest land and jaguar habitat. Money from green-leaning sponsors is used to protect part of the 6 million-acre Selva Maya forest, the largest tract of rainforest in the Americas north of Amazonia. Learn more: planetsave.com [Back to Top]Coleman Natural Foods has committed to planting 1 million trees and is challenging companies and individuals to match that with 9 million more. The U.S. Forest Service will match those donations tree-for-tree for a total of 10 million trees by 2015. Trees will be planted in every state through American Forests' Global ReLeaf Forest projects. Education and training programs to protect 100 million acres of working farms and ranches will be undertaken with partner American Farmland Trust. Join us. [Back to Top]Join American Forests for a cruise to Alaska aboard Holland America Aug. 23-Sept. 6, 2006. Visit the Inside Passage, Juneau, totem poles in Tongas National Forest, Denali National Park, ride a domed sightseeing train through the wild Alaskan interior, and take a riverboat tour of Athabascan Indian Camp. And there's much more. Learn more. [Back to Top]Tree questions? Ask American Forests' experts. E-mail treedoc@amfor.org or treedoctor@amfor.org [Back to Top]Are You a Member? You can do your part to help the environment today by joining AMERICAN FORESTS. Not only are 25 trees planted for you in a damaged ecosystem or forest restoration project, but you will also receive:
Join Today! Visit http://www.americanforests.org/ Forest Bytes Don't forget to forward this information to friends or colleagues. |
