“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt, American President
Experts estimate that approximately 15 billion trees are cut down each year – that’s equal to 27 football field’s worth of forest every minute. As of 2015, there were roughly 3.04 trillion total trees on our planet. A simple calculation reveals that it would take just over 200 years for all the world’s trees to completely disappear from our planet’s landscape.
Why Are Trees Important?
Trees provide a critical source of sustenance to all kinds of life on earth including humans, animals and other plants. They act as natural air filters so we can breathe, they add nutrients to the soil so we can grow crops and they play a key part in protecting the environment so we can live safely.
Our need for trees will continue to grow as the global population gets bigger and bigger. It’s therefore in the best interest of both us and our planet to curb global deforestation. As the author Munia Khan says, “Trees exhale for us so that we can inhale them to stay alive. Can we ever forget that? Let us love trees with every breath we take until we perish.”
What would Happen if All the Trees Died?
In our latest infographic we imagine what would happen if we woke up one day to find that all the world’s trees had disappeared? We investigate current deforestation levels around the world and we look into the factors that are contributing to the destruction of our forests. The infographic also explores why trees are and examines the impact of their annihilation.
Take a look at the infographic below to learn more about why we depend on trees to survive.
