Life Changing Trees: Save a Tree and Change Your Life

After (cough cough) a couple of months of not finishing sharing this series with my lovely steemit friends, I thought I'd continue it and get this endevor of love out there.

Without Trees, Earth Could Run Out of Fresh Water Part 4

Large areas of trees influence weather patterns, as they have their own microclimates. The Amazon rainforest creates conditions that mean that nearby farmland gets regular rainfall and these atmospheric conditions can potentially be felt as far away as the Great Plains of North America.

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No trees could result in a very arid and desolate earth. Not only, will the soil and air be heaving with dangerous chemicals and pollutants, but no trees will also lead to very little rain, as trees add humidity to the air through transpiration, just like the Amazon example above. Fewer trees mean less moisture in the air and no trees would mean that at some point it would rarely rain.

During the “dry season”, trees do a good job of regulating and anchoring the earth by releasing water from its roots. Deforested areas are more susceptible to droughts that can cause problems like disruption to industrial operations and failing crop production.

When it does rain, trees protect ecosystems downstream from stormwater runoff that contains toxic chemicals like pesticides, gasoline, and manure that left unfiltered would create low oxygen dead zones.

Forests are like huge sponges, so that water doesn't run and roll over surfaces, but instead is caught by the roots. The water that is not needed trickles down into aquifers (underground formations containing groundwater). These groundwater supplies are important for irrigation, sanitation, and drinking.

With no trees, there will be a time in the future when freshwater supplies will become scarce. There is already much debate about how we abuse non-renewable resources. Arguably fresh water is the most important of all these resources, as it is the basis for human survival, as we need to drink it, as well as use it to water crops, give to livestock and even industrial operations.

Politicians in the future will inevitably have to make tough decisions on how to keep enough fresh water for their own country. One frightening option would be to wage war against neighboring countries and further afield – this would be a war until death.