The Man Who Planted Trees

A. I thought this reading was surprisingly enjoyable. I tend to enjoy stories where the phrase "actions speak louder than words" comes into play. I admire Elzeard Bouffier for planting these trees for nothing in return. This story truly shows how one man changed a barren village into a beautiful landmass for the people/youth of the plains to enjoy and, live on for the future years.

B. A lesson that can be taken from this story is that "humanity is admirable" - Jean Giono. That if one person can make such a difference in the lives of thousands then image how much of a difference can be created by every individual. This quote used by Jean Giono in the last paragraph shows how admirable people can be by doing something extraordinary for others.

C. The cutting down of trees creates many problems for the environment, trees create a shield from the sun so the soil can gather moister. Without this shield the soil becomes dry, cracked earth. Trees also anchor the soil so events such as The Dust bowl can't occur. When the forests are cut down less moister is evapotranspired into the atmosphere leaving less clouds and eventually a drought may occur in that particular area. There is a major concern that deforestation could lead to a significant decline in rainfall and triggering drought and leading to the destruction of vegatation. Restoring trees creates shade for the landscape to capture moister and also releases water vapor back into the atmosphere continuing the water cycle.

D. United Nations Environment Programme has started a campaign to plant a billion trees in a single year (which was lauched in Nairobi, Kenya, in November 2006). "The Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign" is intended to encourage people and organizations everywhere to take small but practical steps to cut down on global warming , which many experts believe is the most important environmental challenge of the 21st century.