New Bill Would Help Communities Plant More Trees - National Humane Education Society
Paws Up! To Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Shelly Capito (R-WV) for introducing the TREE Act.
June 30, 2020
Senators from both sides of the aisle came together last week in an effort to improve Americans’ neighborhoods with the introduction of the TREE Act of 2020. The Tackling Energy burdens Efficiently (TREE) Act would implement a federal grant program for communities across the country to plant trees in rural and urban neighborhoods.
The TREE Act promotes the planting of at least 300,000 trees annually across the United States to help combat the rising energy consumption rates of average U.S. households. Senator Shelley Moore Capito believes in this bill because not only would tree-planting help lower residential energy costs in the warmer months, but it would improve air quality and appeal of the many currently tree-less neighborhoods throughout the nation. According to the USDA Forest Service, increasing a community’s Urban Tree Canopy (the amount of branches and leaves that cover the ground when looking from above) is an excellent way to reduce air pollution and improve wildlife habitats–boosting the quality of life for humans, plants, and animals.
This bill was inspired by the Trillion Trees Initiative–a global enterprise that is challenging countries all over the world to help plant one trillion trees by the year 2050 to combat climate change.
Take Action: Contact your senators today to tell them to support the TREE Act of 2020 to help the future generations of people and animals to thrive in healthy, vibrant, and tree-covered communities for decades to come.
