411 Oak Trees

• Oak trees are native to the Northern hemisphere. The usual lifespan of an oak is about 200 years, but some live over 1,000 years. Oak trees grow to an average height of about 15 to 21 meters (50 to 70 feet) and have a spread of as much as 15 meters (50 feet) from branch to branch when fully grown. Many species of oaks are under threat of extinction in the wild, because of the habitat destruction, over exploitation, diseases and introduction of invasive species.
• The fruit is a nut called an acorn. One oak produces more than 2000 acorns every year. Wildlife that consume acorns as part of their diets includes jays, pigeons, duck, pigs, bears, deer, squirrels and mice.

• The leaves and acorns of the oak tree are poisonous to cattle, horses, sheep, and goats in large amounts due to the toxin tannic acid, and cause kidney damage and gastroenteritis.
• Oak wood has great strength and hardness. The wood is very resistant to insect and fungal attack because of its high tannin content. It is used in the manufacture of ships, furniture, floorings and barrels.

Q&A Ecosia Scam or Legit

We had received an email regarding Ecosia asking if this organization is scam or legit?

Team of The Seed of Life® did some digging and here is what we were able to find out. If you believe otherwise, please kindly comment below and we would love to learn more.

Ecosia is a search engine similar to Google. There is also an extension of Ecosia to chrome, which one can add.

Ecosia  doesn't have their own search engine, rather they piggy back on Bing Search Engine. Per their business model, they track all the information regarding the surfer. They claim they give back to the society around 80% of profit, which they make from advertisements.

That 80% of profit can go to various areas and one of them is planting trees. Yes, they have planted trees, but as an individual, surfer does it make any difference in planting? Is there a way to track how you personally made any difference in the environment by using Ecosia?

The simple answer is No, there is no way to track that, nor is there any guarantee.

If you choose to use Ecosia or not, that is definitely up to you as a consumer and surfer. Please stay safe and vigilant.

411 Apple Trees

• The apple tree originated in Central Asia. They have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe, and were brought to North America by European colonists. China is by far the largest apple producer.
• Apple are one of the most widely grown tree fruit. There are more than 8,000 varieties of apples – the largest variety of fruit to exist.
• Apple trees take 4 to 5 years to produce their first fruit.The apple tree generally standing 1.8 to 4.6 meters (6 to 15 feet) tall in cultivation and up to 12 meters (39 ft) in the wild. Life expectancy for apple tree is about 100 years.
• Apples can help you improve your memory. Most of the anti-oxidants in apples, are found in the skin. Apples can also help lower cholesterol levels.

Who loves Apples? My 2 year old does. Do your kids too?

Do you know anything more about Apples and Apple trees? We would love to hear from you!

411 Chestnut Trees

• There are 9 different species of chestnut native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
• The four main species are commonly known as European, Chinese, Japanese, and American chestnuts, some species called chinkapin or chinquapin.
• It has a lifespan of 200 to 800 years, depending on the species.
• The Hundred-Horse Chestnut is the largest and oldest known chestnut tree in the world. Located on Linguaglossa road in Sant’Alfio, on the eastern slope of Mount Etna in Sicily it is generally believed to be 2,000 to 4,000 years old.
• The nuts are an important food for jays, pigeons, wild boar, deer, and squirrels.
• Chestnut can be consumed raw, baked, boiled or roasted. It also can be dried and milled into flour, which can then be used to prepare breads, cakes, pies, pancakes, pastas, polenta or used as thickener for stews, soups, and sauces.

Use or Abuse of Farming?

"Green Movement" A Scam, 2020 Trend or Global Crisis," P.1

Bleak History or Future? P.2

In order to understand this article thoroughly, please review part 1 and 2. As we discussed in, Bleak History or Future, how America's waters, land, and air got damaged. I would like to outline a bit more detailed on machine usage in farming in this article.

While on the flip side, many countries such as Mexico, India, Pakistan, and majority African countries, were still using old methods of farming, (some areas still continue to use old method of farming), while majority of European countries and North America quickly adapted to machine use in the fields. 

The trend moved to machine use for several reasons: 

• Less men on the field =  Spend less $$$
• Faster work done
• Large acres got done faster
• Faster growth of crops

Putting all this on the table was helpful to farmers and agriculture. Many profit organizations wanted agriculture business as well. 

Abuse

• Various kinds of machines and instruments started appearing, which hurt the air with their fumes, noise pollution started, and hurt the crops as some machines worked while others failed. 
• Many options of pesticides were introduced, which again took the turn of hurting crops, animals, air, and water. 
• More land was provided for better "farming" more business, which took many forests out and took away homes of many animals ie bears, foxes, wolf, and majority of sea animals, just to name a few.
• Animal farming turned into business in itself, by feeding animals medication for strong, lean and muscular body organs, skinning started for clothes and accessories, teeth for jewelry and international trade, nails became status of the society, meat intake became wealthy symbol, hunting became a sport, and fighting animal to animal a game. 
• In the name of freedom, garbage was disposed by individuals, businesses, factories, farmers, and manufacturing plants into waters and land.

One so-called better opportunity for society became ten-fold steps backwards for the environment

Tree Location Fact: MN, USA

Location Fact:

Mean net annual oxygen production (after accounting for decomposition) per hectare of trees (100% tree canopy) offsets oxygen consumption of 19 people per year (8 people per acre of tree cover), but ranges from nine people per hectare of canopy cover (4 people/ac cover) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to 28 people/ha cover (12 people/ac cover) in Calgary, Alberta."

Sources

• McAliney, Mike. Arguments for Land Conservation: Documentation and Information Sources for Land Resources Protection, Trust for Public Land, Sacramento, CA, December 1993.
• Nowak, David J.; Hoehn, Robert; Crane, Daniel E. Oxygen Production by Urban Trees in the United States. Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 2007. 33(3):220–226.
• Stancil, Joanna Mounce. The Power of One Tree - The Very Air We Breathe. U.S. Department of Agriculture. March 17, 2015.
• Villazon, Luis. How many trees does it take to produce oxygen for one person? BBC Science Focus Magazine.
• ThoughtCo, Ph.D. Helmenstine, Anne Marie How Much Oxygen Does One Tree Produce?  November 19, 2019

Global Census of Tree Species

In April 2017, the results of a "huge scientific effort" were published in the Journal of Sustainable Forestry, along with a searchable online archive called GlobalTreeSearch.

The scientists all over the world worked hard for this effort to compile the data as accurately as possible. These scientists are frok all backgrounds such as but not limited to: museums, botanical gardens, agricultural centers and other sources, and concluded there are 60,065 tree species currently known to science. 

These numbers and species globally range from from Abarema abbottii, a vulnerable limestone-bound tree found only in the Dominican Republic, to Zygophyllum kaschgaricum, a rare and poorly understood tree native to China and Kyrgyzstan.

The Power of a Single Tree

When we see trees, we as human beings, don't even think twice about the effects of these green leafy bulky living creatures. 

Just take a moment and think about it? Have you ever wondered why the air is thinker, denser, fresh, mold, or polluted, is different at various places? 

The amount of oxygen produced by a single tree depends on several factors such as but not limited to: location, type of species, number of the family, soil, age, health, weather/season, and environmental surroundings in overall (buildings, manufacturing plants, beach, mountains, etc).

Here are some interesting facts to acknowledge:

• A full mature tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year. 
• A single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 pounds per year.
• A full grown mature tree can release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support two human beings.
• One acre of trees annually consumes the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to that produced by driving an average car for 26,000 miles.
• An acre of trees produces enough oxygen for 18 people to breathe for a year.
• A tree that average measure of 100-foot tree, 18 inches diameter at its base, produces average of 6,000 pounds of oxygen.
• On average, one tree can produce nearly upto 260 pounds of oxygen each year. 

Sources

• McAliney, Mike. Arguments for Land Conservation: Documentation and Information Sources for Land Resources Protection, Trust for Public Land, Sacramento, CA, December 1993.
• Nowak, David J.; Hoehn, Robert; Crane, Daniel E. Oxygen Production by Urban Trees in the United States. Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 2007. 33(3):220–226.
• Stancil, Joanna Mounce. The Power of One Tree - The Very Air We Breathe. U.S. Department of Agriculture. March 17, 2015.
• Villazon, Luis. How many trees does it take to produce oxygen for one person? BBC Science Focus Magazine.
• ThoughtCo, Ph.D. Helmenstine, Anne Marie How Much Oxygen Does One Tree Produce?  November 19, 2019