About
this Gallery
The Urban Forest
The trees of an urban forest have an astounding effect on a city’s well-being.
Along with lifting our hearts in all seasons, an urban forest absorbs pollution, muffles noise, sequesters carbon, prevents flooding, generates oxygen—and conserves vast amounts of energy. Trees lower heating costs by 20% by screening buildings from wind. Their shade can reduce cooling bills by up to 50%. Existing shade trees provide America the energy equivalent of eight 100-megawatt power plants.
Planting more trees is one of the immediate actions we can take, as individuals and communities, to offset the effects of global warming— effects we are seeing in more violent storms, intense heatwaves, and power blackouts.
Calling Johnny Appleseed!
To learn more about how to keep the Earth cool, visit An Inconvenient Truth. To read more about the urban forest, click here to read one of my columns for Bostonia.
Back to Main Gallery
Photographs ©2005
Emily Hiestand. Available as archival prints