How Do Trees Affect Atlanta

As America continues its expansion and urbanization, an often forgotten causality of our growing cities is the trees and plants. It is no secret that society wants the latest and greatest, which means building the largest, most technologically advanced cities, and this is especially true here in Atlanta. According to James Kundell, an ecology professor at the University of Georgia, in his article “Urban Sprawl” on Georgiaencyclopedia.org, Atlanta is the fastest growing state in the Southeast. Growing at a rate of 38.9 percent annually, this huge growth takes a sizeable toll on the local environment, specifically, a loss of 50 acres of tree coverage per day (Kundell). With no end to the urban development in sight, this could lead to staggering …show more content…
One aspect of everyday life directly affected by trees is that of air quality. Trees are known to remove co2 emissions from the air, while cars and traffics are known causes of co2 emissions. Kundell additionally reports that in addition to a high growth rate, Atlanta has the fourth highest amount of traffic congestion, leading to the sixth worst ozone pollution in the United States as noted by the American Lung Association (Kundell). Traffic and Atlanta are near synonymous at this point, and this trend looks to continue in the future. If Atlanta and other cities with similar traffic congestion issues continue to remove trees, ozone pollution will continue to skyrocket to unhealthy levels. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, high ozone pollution can cause shortness of breath, pain when breathing, and …show more content…
Brad Pitt states in E2: The Economies of Being Environmentally Conscious, a documentary series on how to successfully build environmentally conscious cities, large corporations are a huge cause of most of environmental problems as corporate buildings consume 40 percent of the worlds energy and emit 50 percent of the worlds greenhouse gasses (E2: The Economies of Being Environmentally Conscious). If left unchecked corporations will continue to hurt the environment, constantly clearing trees and space as they expand. The only way to solve this problem is through the citizens themselves. One solution to corporate and urban expansion is setting aside designated areas for urban parks. Anna Cheisura, an environmental writer, in “The Role of Urban Park for the Sustainable City” reports that in a survey, 73 percent of people find urban parks relaxing and would support their implementation. Cheisura also states how urban parks have positive correlations in increase relaxation, stress relief, and an increased connection with the natural world (Cheisura). Most people understand and enjoy trees and an urban parks benefits, but this is not enough. For true change, people need to remove themselves from the backseat, and take a stand in calling for more urban park areas. Besides supporting any legislation, the only real way to help is to volunteer time with organizations like Trees Atlanta that go out and plant trees. These

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