The heat of Midwestern summers is no joke. If I think about it too long, I can feel the stickiness of the air and the sun’s rays beating down on my face. After some fun in the sun, it’s always refreshing to flop down on some grass under a large tree. The shade from trees is a great way to beat the heat. Trees provide many year-round benefits, but tree loss continues to minimize these advantages.
Regardless of the season, trees naturally help the environment. Trees replace carbon dioxide with oxygen, which helps reduce carbon emissions in the air and cleans the air we breathe. Their webbed root systems retain water, filter toxins, help the soil retain its shape and protect against erosion and natural disasters like floods and mudslides.
While our forest friends give us and the environment so much, tree loss actively works against their benefits. Tree loss can occur for a variety of reasons:
- Natural disasters. Hurricanes, tornadoes, derecho storms and wildfires are all threats to trees, and becoming more frequent as the climate crisis rages on.
- Inability to grow in urban areas. Cities typically have poorer soil than rural areas. Coupled with heavy foot traffic, arborists and agricultural architects are tasked to develop innovative ways to grow plants in urban areas.
- Tree removal for development. Deforestation for urban development and forestry is a global trend that contributes to poor air quality and hurts the ecosystems that rely on trees.
The greatest need for trees and vegetation in cities is within underfunded, marginalized neighborhoods, especially in areas where deaths from heatwaves are high. Without adequate plants to absorb and filter air, these communities suffer from extreme temperatures and poor air quality.
Planting trees won’t solve all our air quality and pollution problems, but it’s an important piece of the puzzle. As a part of Alliant Energy’s One Million Trees initiative, we plan to plant a million trees across Wisconsin and Iowa by 2030. To find out more about the initiative, including how you can get grants for your community to plant trees or discounts when you purchase your own, visit the One Million Trees page on our website.