there are more than 60,000 different
types of trees in the world
which one is your favorite remember it
well because it might not be around for
much longer
while there are an estimated 3 trillion
trees in the world we lose about 27
soccer fields worth of trees every
minute that said you can play a part in
changing that the internet is banding
together to plant 20 million trees by
the end of the year and if you want to
help out all you have to do is visit
team trees org where you can plant a
tree for just $1 and if you don't have
$1 to spare then get the word out by
sharing this video this is what if and
here's what would happen if everyone
planted a tree on their birthday
there are 7 point 7 billion people on
the planet 130 million people are born
every year which is about 250 births a
minute this means that on any given day
there could be about 350,000 people
celebrating a birthday so yes we're
talking about planting a lot of trees
but we could certainly use them why how
much do you like breathing trees and
plants produce the air we breathe but if
that's not good enough for you there are
also natural heaters air conditioners
noise reducers move and provers flood
preventers and property value increases
oh and they absorb harmful carbon
emissions that are warming our planet
and endangering our lives given the
state of our environment how many trees
will be enough to save us
to put it in perspective you would need
one trillion 545 billion trees to absorb
all the emissions that were produced in
the year 2010 but could we reach that
goal if everyone planted a tree on their
birthday with the average global
lifespan at 72 years old that means that
everyone plants give or take 72 trees in
their lifetime assuming our population
stays about the same and we don't
pollute any more than we do now it would
take two and a half generations of
continuous birthday tree planting to
finally plant one and a half trillion
trees even if that timeline was possible
this massive tree planting effort would
require a land area the size of Asia
Europe and Australia combined but that's
no reason to be discouraged there are
more trees on the planet now than there
were 30 years ago and studies show that
there's enough suitable land on earth to
increase the number of trees by 1/3
without it impacting our agriculture or
cities but while a massive tree planting
project could erase almost 100 years of
carbon emissions it would also take 100
years to grow these forests to a
suitable size and with the world's
population expected to be at 11 billion
in 100 years now might be a good time to
start planting right now roughly half of
the world's population lives in cities
and that figure is expected to rise
about 70% by 2050 this means that cities
will have to expand and develop the
surrounding countryside this means fewer
trees and even more greenhouse gases
we're going to need a lot of trees if we
hope to build large sustainable cities
just one tree can produce enough oxygen
for 4 people while 100 million trees can
absorb 18 million tons of carbon dioxide
and save 4 billion dollars a year in air
conditioning costs urban density has a
huge impact on the local temperature in
cities with a million people or more it
can be as high as 12 degrees hotter than
out
country because pavement and concrete
are natural heat absorbers but trees are
a welcome relief not only by offering
shade but they also release water vapor
from their leaves trees are effective
against cold weather too as natural
windbreakers they can reduce heating
costs for families by as much as 25% so
with their natural climate control
abilities and their ability to soften
the noise of dense city traffic you can
probably guess why trees are natural
stress relievers as well but despite all
these benefits you can have too much of
a good thing to protect themselves
against environmental stresses like
insect infestations and extreme heat
trees release volatile organic compounds
VOCs which can react with other
chemicals in the air to produce methane
and ozone so in their own little way too
many trees can also pose a risk to the
environment now it's highly unlikely
that everyone on earth will plant a tree
on their birthday but something that
isn't unlikely is planting 20 million
trees once again you can go to team
trees org where every dollar you donate
means one tree will be planted and a
part of the money we make from this
video will donate to team trees org so
share with your friends so we can plant
more trees let's see if we can get to 20
million by the end of the year right now
we're losing 7.3 million hectares of
forest every year which is an area
roughly the size of Panama and a lot of
massive tree planting projects are being
stymied by political or economic
conflicts not to mention geographic
limitations but as long as you have a
backyard a handful of seeds in the right
climate you can make a difference by
planting just one small tree so give it
a try help us grow a better future and
go out on a limb next time on what if