Plant 1 billion trees, urges Nobel winner

ELIZABETH A KENNEDY NAIROBI – Nobel Peace Prize winner and Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai called on citizens around the world to plant 1 billion trees in the coming year to fight global warming.

“This something that anybody can do,” Maathai said yesterday at the UN conference on climate change, which has drawn delegates from more than 100 countries to Kenya. Maathai – who in 2004 became the first black African woman to win a Nobel in any category – said the campaign is meant to inspire ordinary citizens to help the environment.But she urged participants to ensure the trees thrive long after they’re planted.”It’s one thing to plant a tree, it’s another to make is survive,” said Maathai, who founded Kenya’s Green Party in 1987 and focused on planting trees to address the wood fuel crisis here.”If you know you are not going to take care of that tree, don’t bother.”Scientists blame the past century’s 0,6-degree-Celsius (1-degree-Fahrenheit) rise in average global temperatures at least in part on the accumulation of carbon dioxide, methane and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere – byproducts of power plants, automobiles and other fossil fuel burners.Africa, already on the edge environmentally, is the continent expected to suffer most from shifting climate zones and droughts, like the one now in its fourth year in East Africa.Destroying trees through burning contributes to global warming, releasing about 370 million tons of greenhouse gases every year – about five per cent of the world total – scientists say.Planting trees can offset climate change in part because they absorb carbon dioxide.The tree-planting project, organised by the United Nations Environment Programme, shows that “action does not need to be confined to the corridors of the negotiation halls”, said Achem Steiner, UNEP’s executive director.The project calls on participants – including individuals, schools and governments – to sign up on UNDP’s Web site and register the trees they planted.Nampa-APMaathai – who in 2004 became the first black African woman to win a Nobel in any category – said the campaign is meant to inspire ordinary citizens to help the environment.But she urged participants to ensure the trees thrive long after they’re planted.”It’s one thing to plant a tree, it’s another to make is survive,” said Maathai, who founded Kenya’s Green Party in 1987 and focused on planting trees to address the wood fuel crisis here.”If you know you are not going to take care of that tree, don’t bother.”Scientists blame the past century’s 0,6-degree-Celsius (1-degree-Fahrenheit) rise in average global temperatures at least in part on the accumulation of carbon dioxide, methane and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere – byproducts of power plants, automobiles and other fossil fuel burners.Africa, already on the edge environmentally, is the continent expected to suffer most from shifting climate zones and droughts, like the one now in its fourth year in East Africa.Destroying trees through burning contributes to global warming, releasing about 370 million tons of greenhouse gases every year – about five per cent of the world total – scientists say.Planting trees can offset climate change in part because they absorb carbon dioxide.The tree-planting project, organised by the United Nations Environment Programme, shows that “action does not need to be confined to the corridors of the negotiation halls”, said Achem Steiner, UNEP’s executive director.The project calls on participants – including individuals, schools and governments – to sign up on UNDP’s Web site and register the trees they planted.Nampa-AP