Trees For Our Children

With the Olympic games being held in China this year, many progressive humanitarian organizations are raising awareness about the plight of our poor Tibetan brothers who are suffering. While the staff at Trees For Our Children certainly don’t want to take any attention away from that, there is another serious issue that needs to be addressed, and we would like to help Greenpeace get the word out!

What’s the problem? The beautiful Merbau tree, whose forests are clearcut and used for coveted hardwood floors in rich homes and palaces is facing a terrifying extinction! To add to the troubles, the Chinese government is covering up the problem. In fact, Greenpeace conducted an investigation reporting that “Chinese importers used sophisticated methods such as forging import documents as prices of merbau soared to more than 600 dollars per cubic metre.” Read more here!

TFOC is all about planting endangered trees that are indigenous to North America, but we urge all of our readers to consider adding their voices to the devastation facing the Merbau! Make a positive difference for our forests–no matter where they are in danger!

—Tony Mantova

Now you can Plant Trees with the click of a button! As you can see, we offer a much easier option for getting trees planted!

—Tony Mantova

The staff at Trees For Our Children would like to thank The Articulate, an online magazine that focuses on issues effecting youth, for their courageous news coverage of TFOC’s latest news!

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A new website promising to help environmentally-conscious people reforest North America brings a welcoming alternative. Trees For Our Children (treesforourchildren.com) is the recent idea proposed by a loose network of active citizens who want to raise awareness about the need to plant trees.

The innovative website discusses the need for more forestland and asks for people to help finance the trees through the timber purchase and planting process. But rather than asking for vague contributions toward forestry goals and benchmarks that can at times be confusing, Trees For Our Children allows the customer to pay for an individual tree and experience the knowledge that their commitment helped with the global reforesting movement.

Trees For Our Children claims that global environmental concerns such as climate change, deforestation, and erosion can be countered by the simple act of planting more trees. An act, they say, which “produces oxygen, stores carbon, and promotes Green values.”

When asked about demographic outreach, site administrator Tony Mantova said that he hoped “to reach out to younger generations who may not have the time, either due to their collegiate or work schedules, to go out into their backyards and community forests to plant trees.” Mantova continued, “With our website, we can talk to these folks and encourage them to contribute to the green movement through online activism and participation!” Site administrators said they look forward to growing the website with new features like environmentally targeted blogs, research and news-feeds.

Trees For Our Children guarantees the safety and protection of its forestry efforts with the support of large cemetery properties that need trees for beautification. Site Administrators note that “trees that are planted by us [Trees For Our Children] are actually much more safer than those in the National Forests because you usually don’t hear about forest fires or logging companies destroying habitat on cemetery ground!”

Trees For Our Children hopes to continue growing and making a difference in the global effort to make our planet a better place.

—Tony Mantova

Trees For Our Children is pleased to announce that our hosting company, DreamHost, has gone carbon neutral! Read about it here!

We encourage other non-profits and businesses to do the same. It is shocking how many organizations, even a small number in the environmentally-aware community, run their websites with hosts that negatively impact nature!

TFOC encourages its readers to discuss the issue of “who hosts where,” on company blogs and corporate boards. Keeping the Host green is just one more way that we can work together to make a positive difference!

—Tony Mantova

From Tony:

I wanted to spend Earth Hour in quiet reflection, so I went home and turned off the lights.  The darkness was a welcome change.  By ending the usual, blustering hum of the lights that always seem to contribute to the noise pollution in my little DC apartment I was able to think about what’s really important.

In the ink-like darkness I found myself elevating to a new plane of consciousness and thinking about what it must have been like on our planet before evolution rocketed our species into the skyscraper, tear apart the planet business.  I thought back to the days of the cavemen, those early human creatures that saw the world as it once was.  I had to wonder how they felt.  What was it like to be in a small community that worked hard to survive and enjoy nature?  The communal feeling of working together and making a positive difference in those days surely had more appeal than eating potato chips, and watching mind-numbing TV on a soggy couch!

I had to wonder how many other conscientious globe-walkers were sitting in the dark having similar thoughts.  Despite the problems that wrack our world, I always try to remember that I am not alone.  Through the smoggy cities, there are people who turn off the lights and recycle in their homes.  Across the countrysides, there are people who use alternative sources of energy to power their homes.  And around the world, people are innovating and constantly creating better ways to fight global warming and buy our planet a little more time.

“It’s all about unity baby”.  Earth Hour forged a special bond that bound men and women in one of hour of contemplation, reflection and yes, action.  That was what made this year’s Earth Hour so beautiful and majestic.  We worked together through nonviolent means to represent not political parties or sports teams, but the interests of the world.

—Tony Mantova

Stan writes that when he first heard about Earth Hour, he became discouraged because he worked an evening shift at a department store. He was not sure he could participate, but where there is hope, there is a way!!

Stan mentioned to his manager that even though the store needed to stay on to serve the public, that maybe for Earth Hour (8-9PM), half the store lights could be turned on and the other half turned off! The manager agreed, and sure enough, the customers were curious to know who turned the lights off and a dialog started! With just some creativity and the courage to ask, Stan raised awareness about Earth Hour and brought it to average people who may have not heard about the movement!

Way to go Stan!

—Tony Mantova

Trees For Our Children would like to thank the Earth Hour team for leading the way in making a global difference yesterday! We will bring you stories about how the staff here at Trees For Our Children and our friends took part in the movement and added something positive to the environment!

We hope that this global-scale demonstration will start a serious dialog regarding the need to reduce carbon emissions, reforest the planet and fight global warming. Change begins with each human being doing their part.

So why not be part of the solution?! Think about how you consume energy in your daily life. Start asking the tough questions: Do I really need to use energy for this? Is there a better way to accomplish that?

Question everything and start making some changes!

—Tony Mantova

Earth Hour is tomorrow!!

How can you be part of it? EASY! Between 8 to 9:00 PM in your local time zone, just turn off the lights and give Mother Earth a break!

Invite your friends and try making plans for how to spend that hour! Perhaps a glow in the dark Ultimate Frisbee game, romantic adventure or stargazing activity is the way to go!

It’s crazy how just a little contribution from so many caring people can really add up. One study I saw found that during Earth Hour, the decline in pollution would be like over 42,000 cars being taken off the road. What a difference!!

Is your city going to fight global warming tomorrow and make a difference?  Click Here and find out!

—Tony Mantova

This is the official blog of “Trees For Our Children,” home of a loose network of environmental activists that are teaming up with cemetery owners to plant trees, grow forests and ultimately help reduce greenhouse gases and reforest North America!

We want to encourage everyone to contribute to the friendly and diverse discussion as we offer perspectives about the trees we plant and how they like their new habitat, talk about the need to raise awareness for the environment, and even what personal choices you can take to make your part of this planet just a little bit greener!

We ask you to respect other people’s opinions, speak your mind, and above all, have fun!

So please be patient as we work behind the scenes to set up our official website! We encourage everyone to enjoy our blog in the meantime! Right now we are making improvements and getting ready to sell trees for what is promising to be an exciting year!

—Tony Mantova