What is Left by Donna Corvi. All Rights Reserved. Trees.  They are the earth’s largest organisms and one of the planets oldest inhabitants. There are approximately 100,000 species worldwide (according to World Resources Institute). The actual number of trees on the planet is incalculable, but in 2000 they covered about 9.6 billion acres (or 29.6% of Earth’s total land area). From 1990-2000, about 24.7 million acres were lost and not recovered, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Much of this is due to deforestation, both legal and illegal.

With fewer and fewer trees on the planet, the burden on them to do their job of creating oxygen for us to breathe becomes more difficult.   Our lungs breathe air and life into us---do we ever stop to think about not being able to breath, if there was no more sustainable ‘good’ air?  It’s not just deforestation, but also pollution, acid rain, blights and our endless need for more energy.