I have known about the benefits of trees all along since I was in school-that they reduce green house effect by absorbing Carbon dioxide; that one large tree can provide for a day’s oxygen need for up to four people; that they conserve energy by reducing air conditioning demands; that they reduce soil erosion and much more. But even when I read that an area of forest equal to 20 football fields is lost every minute, I thought, but what can I do about it; I don’t cut trees; and even if I plant trees in my backyard, how is it going to make a difference?
This was my attitude-atleast until I saw the Inconvenient Truth and one quotation from it particularly influenced me-“Future generations may well have occasion to ask themselves - what were our parents thinking? Why didn’t they wake up when they had a chance? - We have to hear that question from them, now. ” It influenced me so much that I realised that the justification I gave for my inaction so far was a mere excuse.
What is at stake here is the very existence of our planet. Will we let our Earth-our only home- perish in front of our own eyes and still choose to do nothing about it. If we don’t act today, if we don’t transform our dreams and aspirations into actions, then tomorrow we might not get an opportunity to act. It is our dream that our planet continues to exist with all its glory and its green lush for four future generations to enjoy.
Even the simplest of things we do towards the fulfilment of that dream is going to make a huge difference; and planting trees is one such simple thing. It doesn’t take much effort to plant one compared to the benefit we will derive from each of the trees we have planted. Therefore, let’s all take a solemn oath today, keeping in mind that we owe a responsibility towards our future generations and to our planet, that we will all plant at least one tree a month, so that our grandchildren don’t blame us for our inaction.