One of the more common insults thrown around with regard to environmentalists is the term “tree hugger”. The impression given by this insult is that people who are against deforestation have such a bee in their bonnet about saving trees that they do not care about living, moving creatures. The suggestion is that it would be more understandable to try and save animals than trees, so deforestation is not as big an issue as the slaughter of animals. What is often ignored, though, is that the loss […]

The scale of deforestation in this world over the last few decades dwarfs that which took place in thousands of years prior to any of us being born. That this has happened during the period of time in which the environmental movement has been a going concern should be a worry to us all. Why are so many trees being cut down, even as we become more and more aware of the important part that they play in sustaining our lives? The fact is that, as much […]

The environment benefits from people’s actions to protect it, and the more we all do the longer our planet can continue to thrive. One of the most important things we can all do is live a more sustainable lifestyle. But what is sustainability? Our planet has suffered in recent years from the plundering of its natural resources, most usually for manufacturing. One obvious example is the cutting down of trees to make paper. The fact is that it takes decades for trees to grow to the point […]

Well-meaning people have recently begun to do their bit to fight back against the loss of natural resources by either planting, or paying for someone else to plant, trees of their own. Aside from being one sure-fire way to earn the derision and criticism of enviro-skeptics, is this ever going to have much effect? After all, what difference does one tree make? It should be fairly clear that this is not really the right question to ask. Of course, one person planting one tree is not going […]