The earth will have no more trees in 2300, according to Dr. Thomas Crowther, who is an ecologist at Yale University. Oregon is an amazing place for trees, as the laws requires replanting 5 or more trees for every tree cut.  But the rest of the world, doesn’t follow this. Part of the issue in Oregon is removing trees from where they are needed most, like in cities, where they can keep the air pollution down.

So what does Oregon do so well? Jason Cox, who works for the Oregon Department of Forestry,  says “Oregon’s land use laws, and other components of the Forest Practices Act have helped keep about 49% of Oregon as forestland – roughly the same amount (albeit sometimes in different locations) as in the 1600s.” The replanting laws are especially important in the U.S., as it is the second highest exporter of lumber.

How much does logging do with the growth of the United States, and how would restricting logging affect the U.S. economy? Evan Davis, who works for Builders Firstsource,  says, “There are alternatives for building the structure of the house. You can use steel studs or metal framing. And for siding you can use fiber cement siding such as hardy plank.” The problem with using cement and iron is that, in the process to create them, cement and iron release enormous amounts of carbon dioxide. Since there aren’t that many alternatives, wood will still keep being sold. It is also important to keep selling wood as it is significant to the economy. The United States makes 9.7 billion dollars each year from lumber.

According to Oregon Loggers, currently every person in America uses roughly one tree a year.  Currently the world is cutting down 3.5 to 7 billion trees a year. The world is losing trees. The world uses 15 billion trees per year, and only 5 billion are being replanted. The earth is losing 10 billion trees per year. You can help save trees by recycling. You can also volunteer to help plant trees in your community and help educate those around you to do the same. Doing this can slow down and stop these giants from disappearing.