April 22, 2016, is a day for celebrating our Earth, an event established in 1970 to honor the planet on which we live.
The goal announced to the world on this Earth Day is to plant 7.8 billion trees from now until the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 2020. Trees are said to absorb excess and harmful CO2 from our atmosphere. In a single year, an acre of mature trees absorbs the same amount of CO2 produced by driving the average car 26,000 miles.
Trees also absorb odors, pollutant gases and filter particulate matter by capturing matter on their leaves and bark.
The Farm Service Agency promotes the planting of trees in its Conservation Reserve Program, especially along riparian buffers that prevent nutrients from entering streams and waterways that eventually would reach larger bodies of water and affect the ecosystem.
FSA Administrator Val Dolcini acknowledges Earth Day and the men and women — farmers and ranchers — who have been among the earliest stewards of the Earth. They are people who invest in preserving the soil and water, because they know first hand the value our planet provides us all.