How Many Trees Should You Plant to Offset Greenhouse Gases?

Aylin Erman — Sun, 16 Feb 2014 08:00:53 +0000

We’ve been advised that we humans are destroying the earth with each step, each breath. But it really is hard to fathom exactly what that means. The numbers and premonitions aren’t tangible enough to make our greenhouse gases dilemma something everyone actively fights against on a daily basis.

How about if you knew how many trees you are destroying, and that you have the potential to re-plant, with each press of the “on” button or twist of the keys? The following list gives you a rough idea of how many trees your CO2 emissions equates to on a yearly basis.

The following calculations related to appliances are based on a 2,000-square-foot household and average use of them in a family. The car and motorist calculations were made by Arnia Doria, former Honda executive. Hopefully this list gives you a boosted environmental conscience and help the world cut down on its greenhouse gases.

Can’t plant yourself or want to find a way to get more involved? Organizations like Trees for the Future, Tree People, the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation and GROW can bring action to your intention.

So, the question stands:

How many trees do you need to plant to offset the CO2 emissions of a year’s average use of…

…an unleaded gasoline-fueled vehicle?

6 trees

…a 400cc motorcycle?

6 trees

…a television?

2 trees

…a washing machine?

2-3 trees

…a dryer?

20 trees