Environmental impact of planting trees
Have you ever wondered what you could do to positively impact the environment? Well, how about planting a tree?
Trees play a major role on our planet, even though we mostly just walk by them most times without a glance. They help fight global warming for all of us by absorbing carbon monoxide. Just to be clear though, carbon monoxide doesn’t cause climate change but when it is released into the air, it contributes to the buildup of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane, which have a direct link to global warming.
While Australia doesn’t contribute to global warming as much as countries like China and the United States of America, it doesn’t do much to help alleviate the problem either. According to the latest Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), Australia ranks 55th in global warming, but is last in climate change policy. That means that, compared to other countries, the Australian government simply isn’t doing anything worth noting when it comes to helping the environment.
But why should Australia help fight climate change when she doesn’t cause as much harm as many other countries? Well, global warming is, in fact, global. That means that no matter which countries cause the most harm, every country in the world is affected negatively by it so helping to control climate change is certainly a team sport.
Trees are a great place to start. As we’ve mentioned, they soak up a good deal of carbon monoxide, which is very helpful. They don’t have as great an impact as the oceans, but you can’t go around planting oceans. Trees, on the other hand, can be planted, and we can do a lot to prevent their unnecessary destruction.
At this point, if you’re thinking about how anyone could expect you to go around planting trees, we understand – that would be quite ridiculous. But one new phone company, Felix Mobile, has presented an easy way to help you do just that without lifting a finger. In this post we’ll tell you all about Felix and their pledge to plant a tree for you each month you remain a customer.
Felix will plant a tree for you each month – what effect will that have?
Felix Mobile offers only one phone plan – that’s it. But that plan is as unique as it gets – it is one of only two phone plans in Australia that includes real unlimited data. The other telco that offers unlimited data in a SIM only plan is Vodafone, which is the telco that provides Felix Mobile’s 3G/4G network.
But unlimited data is not the only feature that makes Felix Mobile’s SIM plan unique. The telco pledges to plant a tree for you each month that you remain a customer on their plan. Considering what we’ve discussed about how trees can help reduce global warming, that pledge is certainly a boon if you’re concerned about the environment.
You see, every time you use your phone, you contribute to the 1 million tonnes of CO2 that is produced by phone use every year, thanks to the huge amount of electricity used by data centres to make sure your phone actually works. According to Felix Mobile, that’s the equivalent of 386,000 passenger cars that are driven on the road for a entire year. We’re willing to bet that you’re not going to stop using your phone just to cut down on that CO2, so Felix’ pledge of planting a tree might just be the best option yet.
According to Felix Mobile, each tree planted can sequester up to 21kg of carbon each year, and the telco will plant one for you every month you remain a customer – so that’s a lot of carbon being taken out.
Felix has modeled itself as Australia’s environmentally friendly telco. The company isn’t just planting trees – its very core is to remain a carbon neutral telco, which it already is. Felix is certified carbon neutral by Climate Active.
The telco offsets their emissions by purchasing carbon offsets through investments in certified projects that remove carbon or avoid putting carbon in the atmosphere. They invest in the Aak Puul Ngantam Savanna Burning Project (Cape York, QLD), as well as the Prony and Kafeate Wind Power (New Caledonia). The telco also purchases renewable energy certificates (RECs), which allows them inject renewable energy into the grid.
Where is Felix planting trees on your behalf?
Felix has a goal of planting 1 million trees globally, and they are doing that by partnering with One Tree Planted, a nonprofit organization. So far, Felix claims to have already planted over 120,000 trees worldwide already.
While Felix is making this a global effort, they’ve already planted trees right here in Australia – in the eastern seaboard and Western Australia, both of which are bush fire relief projects. As for other countries, Felix has contributed to The Andes in South America, India, and The Philippines.
So while Australia isn’t doing much to combat climate change with government policies, you actually can help by purchasing a Felix Mobile plan. But it’s important to note that it can take as long as 18 months before a tree is planted for each particular month of active subscription. Regardless of how long it takes, however, the impact of your contributions to a better planet will ultimately be felt and seen when Felix shares reports with you.
Summing up
Okay, now it’s time to be brutally honest. The reality is that any meaningful change to global warming statistics will come from whole economy level changes implemented by the government. Appeasing your guilty conscience with Felix by having them plant a tree for you each month is an emotional feel-good factor you buy alongside your $35 plan.
However, it’s not nothing – there actually is a positive impact here. They’ve planted over 100,000 trees so far since their launch late 2020, they clearly have good intentions, and they have obviously picked up on the power of crowdsourcing to get individual Australians aboard the fight against climate change.