Earth Day Thoughts

Last Friday, April 22nd was Earth Day. Since its founding in 1970 Earth Day has evolved into an opportunity to spend a few hours outside with others cleaning up the trash from our water ways and road ways, planting trees and nature walks in our many regional parks to appreciate the trees.

Trees are what I want to talk about. The trees act as natural pollution filters. Their canopies, trunks, roots, and associated soil filter polluted sediment from the runoff to our streams and creeks and ultimately to the Chesapeake Bay. Trees also use and recycle nitrogen and phosphorus which contribute to the decay of our Occoquan Watershed, the Potomac and the Chesapeake Bay and its estuary. Trees protect our watersheds and drinking water supply.

Once a tree reaches maturity, it sequesters 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per tree per year. Planting trees is one of the biggest and cheapest ways of taking CO2 out of the atmosphere to tackle the climate crisis. Not only do forests act as carbon sinks, but they also provide vital habitat for animals and ecological services for humans, such as purifying the air we breathe and regulating local temperatures.

Yet, as we look across Prince William County our tree stands and forested areas are being choked out by the effects of the emerald ash borer and invasive species. In addition, we continue to intentionally remove old growth trees to make way for highly developed land and low-density residential and now solar panels. (I would like to see the carbon impact analysis for removing forest to plant solar panels.)

Forest ecosystems are the largest terrestrial carbon sink on Earth, and their management has been recognized as a cost-effective strategy for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, yet we have ignored planning and supporting the forested tree system in Prince William County. Nationally and locally several initiatives have been proposed to mitigate forest loss and climate change through tree planting as well as maintaining and restoring forest ecosystems. These initiatives been inspired by global assessments of tree and forest attributes and their contributions to offset carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. 

Our neighbor, Loudoun County has funded a Reforestation program targeted at planting trees to permanently reforest currently non-wooded land in multi acre residential plots and community areas in HOAs. A proposal for a similar program failed to be incorporated into any version of the budget for Prince William County despite support from staff in Environmental Services Division. We would all benefit from tree planting and reforestation.  A well conceived planting program would bring improved water quality and quantity (both surface and groundwater), reduced soil erosion, increased wildlife habitat, shade, and of course the beauty of the trees themselves.

"In the United States, forestland represents nearly one-third of total land area and forests store more than three decades of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from economy-wide fossil fuels."