It’s Earth Day 2016 and over the next five years the Earth Day Network plans to plant 7.8 billion trees- one for every person on Earth!

This ambitious aim is the first of five major goals they plan to undertake in honour of the four-year countdown to their 50th anniversary in 2020.

Such a wonderful goal is only in keeping with Earth Day’s reputation as the largest and most active citizen engagement campaign on Earth.

Across the world, millions of schoolchildren and their teachers will take part in education, civic, and outdoor programs that will teach them about the importance of clean air and water, how to begin a lifelong practice of civic participation, and experience the wonders of nature.

On their own and together, these initiatives will make a significant and measurable impact on the Earth and will serve as the foundation of a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable planet for all.

Earth Day 2016 Why Trees?

1. Trees help combat climate change.
   They absorb excess and harmful CO2 from our atmosphere. In fact, in a single year, an acre of mature trees absorbs the same amount of CO2 produced by driving the average car 26,000 miles.
2. Trees help us breathe clean air.
   Trees absorb odors and pollutant gases (nitrogen oxides, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and ozone) and filter particulates out of the air by trapping them on their leaves and bark.
3. Trees help communities.
   Trees help communities achieve long-term economic and environmental sustainability and provide food, energy and income.

To learn more about Earth Day 2016, Trees for the Earth, and how you can get involved, visit: http://www.earthday.org/earth-day/

To sign the petition go to http://chn.ge/21bpCsi

7 Green Guinness World Records

To mark Earth Day 2016, Guinness World Records has compiled a list of extraordinary feats aimed at preserving the environment.

1. Most Bottles Recycled By A Dog

Forget man’s best friend, Tubby the Labrador from the UK is Earth’s best friend. This pooch has helped recycle an estimated 26,000 plastic bottles over the past six years by collecting them on his daily walks, crushing them, and passing them to his owner. That puts most people to shame!

2. Longest Journey By Solar Electric Vehicle

The Solar Car Project Hochschule Bochum from Germany travelled a whopping 29, 753 km. They departed from Adelaide, Australia in October 2011 and finished in Mount Barker, Australia in December 2012. The team spent a total of 168 days driving and 8 days solely recharging the vehicle.

3. Most Trees Planted In One Hour

2, 294, 629, is the impressive number of most trees planted simultaneously in multiple locations is, achieved by 122,168 participants in an event organised by TreeVolution: Greening MindaNOW at 29 locations across the Philippines on 26 September 2014. This record-breaking event saw the planting of rubber, cacao, coffee, timber and mahogany trees, as well as a range of fruit trees and other species indigenous to the Philippines.

4. Largest Plastic Bag Sculpture 

 This octopus shaped sculpture may be made of plastic bags, but it definitely isn’t rubbish. It consists of 68,000 plastic bags and was constructed by over 200 student volunteers at the National Youth EnvirOlympics Challenge in Singapore in 2012. 

5. Most Forested Country 

In 2005, Brazil had an estimated total forest cover of 477,698,000 hectares representing 57.2% of the country’s area. In second place was the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 133,610,000 hectares, representing 58.9% of the country’s area. Brazil is the most forested country in terms of actual land area covered by forest.

6. Largest Tree Hug 

Everyone loves a hug. Even tree’s. The largest tree hug consists of 1,200 people, and was achieved by the Korea Forest Service on 21 March 2015. Gone are the days when ‘tree hugger’ was an insult, these friends of the forest got together to hug it out, nature style.

7. Greenest City

Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, is the world’s first city designed to be zero-carbon and zero-waste. British architect firm Foster and Partners ensured that all the city’s power is generated from renewable resources, and all waste material is recycled. Automobiles are banned in favour of electric, driverless, underground vehicles, so the city’s projected 50,000 citizens should leave no carbon footprint.

The Carousel thanks Guinness World Records and Earth Day Network for this article.

Plant a tree. Make a donation. Activate your friends and social networks. We can do this. #trees4earth