10 Good Reasons To Plant Trees

1. Strategically planted trees can shade and cool your home reducing summer cooling costs as much as 40%.

2. Trees cool the air, land, and water with leafy shade and moisture.

3. Trees make water clean and safe for drinking, boating, fish, and wildlife.

4. Trees "clean" carbon dioxide from the air and return pure oxygen for us to breathe.

5. Planting trees offsets greenhouse gasses from your car and home.

6. Planting trees is a great way to celebrate a birth or birthday, remember a loved one, or say "thank you" to  a special friend.

7. Planting trees can improve the quality of your neighborhood, build community spirit and help reduce crime.

8. City trees reduce the cost of controlling storm water and improve property values.

9. City temperatures can be 6 to 10 degrees hotter in areas without trees.

10. Trees beautify our world adding color, texture, and even sounds that soothe.

For more information you can visit http://www.americanforests.org/

• American Forests is the country's oldest nonprofit citizen conservation organization with roots as deep as 1875

• Did you know that in 50 years, one tree generates over $31,000 worth of oxygen, provides more than $60,000 worth of pollution control, and recycles $37,500 worth of water?

Brief Earth Day History and How We Can Help

In 1970, Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, proposed the first nationwide environmental protest "to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda."

At the time, Americans were consuming leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Environment was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.

On April 22, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

Earth day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.

The movement was so positive and successful that Sen.Nelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom-the highest honor given to civilians in the United States-for his role as Earth Day founder.

Decades later, the technology has progressed to a point where we can individually make improvements to our efficient and smart consumption of resources. As an HVAC contractor, we are on the front lines of the green movement and have the opportunity to work with some of the most advanced technology available to help homeowners conserve. If you are interested in learning more about the many high-efficiency products and services we have available, give us a call any time at 208-994-5533 and we'll be happy to tell you about your options.

To learn more about Earth Day visit http://www.epa.gov/earthday/