Lungs of the Earth

Lungs of the Earth



Every time we visit Palo Alto, the first thing we notice is the “trees”.
The city is named for the El Palo Alto (the tall trees in Spanish).

Palo Alto is endowed with a large population of trees composed of
magnificent native and non-native trees on public and private
properties. Trees are a source of shade, air conditioning and other
environmental benefits providing quality of life.

The City of Palo Alto is distinguished by the State of California and
National Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City-USA. As a matter of
fact, the tree is depicted on the City of Palo Alto's official seal, and on
the seal of Stanford University as well.

It has been said that trees are “Lungs of the Earth”.

In her book, “If You Love This Planet”, Helen Caldicott, an
Australian Physician and passionate advocates of citizen action,
wrote:

“All trees are precious. They are more than just heavens for animals,
birds, insects, and humans; they are also the lungs of the Earth. Just
as we breathe oxygen into our lungs and exhale carbon dioxide, so
trees breathe carbon dioxide into their leaves and exhale oxygen.
Trees are really upside-down lungs: their trunks are equivalent to
the trachea, their branches to the right and left main bronchi, and all
their branching twigs and leaves to small bronchi (bronchioles) and
alveoli, or air sacs, where oxygen and carbon dioxide exchanged.
Tree trunk and branches may appear solid, but they are really rigid
channels that transmit water and nutrients to the leaves, the way
the trachea and air passages transmit air to the alveoli in human
lungs.”

Trees are an organic necessity to the biological health of the planet.
As human beings fill the air with carbon dioxide and destroy the
ozone layer with human-made chemicals, trees offer an excellent
means of buffering these effects. They replenish the atmosphere.

Per Dr. Caldicott, we need to plant billions of trees to save the
atmosphere, noting the fact that, in Papua New Guinea, as just one
of the countless instances of rain forest destruction, a five-year study
of satellite images demonstrates that almost 10 millions acres of rain
forest has already been destroyed by illegal logging.

We have numerous trees, both young and mature, growing around
our house, and I believe I have inhaled plenty of oxygen given out
by them every day.

Trees are precious. Plant more trees, if you love this planet.
They are the lungs of the earth.

Yeh Tze