Thursday, January 17, 2008

Facts About Trees & Green GIVEAWAY

Birthday Party for the Trees at imabima.blogspot.com
Tu B'Shevat, the birthday of the trees (or the new year of the trees) is a minor Jewish holiday, and you can read more about it here and also at Robin's great blog here (she is a few hours ahead of me so her post was up way before mine!)

In honor of Tu B'Shevat...here are 13 reasons trees are important (and a few facts about trees in Israel for good measure...):

1. Trees are a source of shade when the sun is hot. They protect our homes, our grass, our land, from the heat of the sun. Trees control climate by moderating the effects of the sun, rain and wind. Leaves absorb and filter the sun's radiant energy, keeping things cool in summer.

2. Trees produce nourishing fruits and nuts for humans to eat.

3. Trees purify the air we breathe and are sometimes called the "green lungs" of our cities.

4. Trees help prevent the soil from erosion and the land from becoming a desert.

5. Trees can be beautiful and inspiring to gaze upon. As the old adage goes, “I have never seen something as beautiful as a tree.”

6. Many animals, including elephants, koalas and giraffes eat leaves for nourishment. Flowers are eaten by monkeys, and nectar is a favorite of birds, bats and many insects. Animals also eat much of the same fruit that we enjoy.

7. Hundreds of living creatures call trees their home. Leaf-covered branches keep many animals, such as birds and squirrels, out of the reach of predators.

8. They have a wide variety of practical and commercial uses. Wood was the very first fuel, and is still used for cooking and heating by about half of the world's population. Trees provide timber for building construction, furniture manufacture, tools, sporting equipment, and thousands of household items. Wood pulp is used to make paper.

9. The bark of some trees can be made into cork and is a source of chemicals and medicines. Quinine and aspirin are both made from bark extracts. The inner bark of some trees contains latex, the main ingredient of rubber.

10. Today, there are over 200 million trees in Israel – forests of pine, tamarisk, carob and eucalyptus.

11. Since its founding, the Jewish National Fund has planted more than 240 million trees in Israel to protect the land, prevent soil erosion, green the landscape and preserve vital ecosystems.

12. Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in numbers of trees.

13. The Yatir Forest, which grows on the edge of the desert, is the largest of Israel’s man-planted forests. The father of afforestation in Israel, Yosef Weitz, jabbed the ground of Yatir with his walking stick and declared: "A forest will grow here!" contradicting the experts who argued that it was impossible for trees to grow on such arid soil. Which generally sums up Jewish gumption!

Some of these are from SavATree and some are from Jewish National Fund.
See more Thursday Thirteen here...

And now....The Giveaway:
In honor of Tu B'Shevat (the Birthday of the Trees) and the commitment to the earth that the holiday brings with it (read more here and here), Skeeda: Reusable Bags for the Hip, Eco-Chic Shopper is giving away one gorgeous, awesome re-usable shopping (shlepping) bag! The bag is very strong, washable, folds flat and is beautiful! Visit their lovely site to see all their affordable and beautiful styles. (Read more about re-usable bags here.)


How can you win?

1. Make a comment here or on yesterday's Tu B'Shevat posts . Do you use reusable bags for groceries, lunch, shlepping? This is your entry! You can enter each day - once per day. Come back and visit all week for this and other giveaways.

2. For an extra entry, post on your blog or tell a friend about this giveaway and Skeeda's Bags and link back to me. Use my button:

<a href="http://imabima.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc126/imabima/tubshevatparty.jpg" border="0" alt="Birthday Party for the Trees at imabima.blogspot.com"></a>

3. Don't forget to give me a way to get in touch with you if you win!

4. This giveaway ends on Thursday, January 18th at 9pm Central Time. Winner will be announced Friday morning, along with the next Tu B'Shevat Birthday Giveaway!

Come back all week for the Tu B'Shevat Birthday Party and more green green green....re-use a bag, hug a tree!

My Previous Tu B'Shevat Party Posts:
Go Vegetarian and be green?
For the Love of the Trees
Waste Not...

17 comments:

Melanie said...

Trees are so wonderful! We have crab apple trees and it is so wonderful in the springtime! Very interesting list!

pussreboots said...

Yes I use reusable bags, though not as often as I would like. I also reuse the paper bags I get from the local grocery stores.

Cat said...

Also, just wondering if in your wanders you had come across...

http://www.halfpintharvest.com/

Crunchy Domestic Goddess said...

cute bag! thx for the giveaway.

Karen said...

I didn't know about this holiday, but I am a definite tree lover. I've had to cut down several that were diseased on my property and I mourned them like old friends.

There is something very comforting in the constancy of them and all the things they provide for us.

Glad I found your blog -- !! I'm in Downers Grove!

Robin said...

Trees can take my breath away, whether it's huge old growth rainforests in the Pacific NW or the palm trees I see out my window each day, there is nothing quite like a tree.

Thanks for the linkie love too.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting.

my mOMtra said...

Cool...reusable bags rock...CUTE reusable bags REALLY rock. Great Idea.

My Busy Life said...

A good educational TT worth reading. Although I had read somewhere that not all trees are beneficial in the environment. We read about it after CNN did that big 3 hour event awhile back. I am up too.

United Studies said...

Thanks so much for visiting my blog yesterday for WFMW.

And thank you for the opportunity to win this cute bag. I always use re-useable bags when grocery shopping.

Anonymous said...

we leave reuseable bags in our car so we always have them for grocery shopping. we always have to ask them to overstuff the bags so they dont use too many. sometimes if i dont have a bag i will grab plastic bags out of the store's bag recycling container to not use new bags!

thanks for the opportunity to get that beautiful bag (ours are all plain canvas)

elkesten[at]yahoo[dot]com

Head Gaggler said...

Great TT. Trees are so important. We plant many each year.

Taryn said...

We just started using reusables for shopping!

Anonymous said...

Just a quick note about vegetarian meat substitutes. Try a brand called Quorn. The faux chicken breast is awesome.

Karla Cook @ Roads to Everywhere said...

Thanks for your comment on my blog. Come again soon!

windycindy said...

This is the prettiest shopping bag that is reusable that I have seen! They have a wonderful site! Thanks for introducing me to their site and sponsoring the contest.....Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

Unknown said...

Thanks for tipping me off to your giveaway (I posted on bringing my own bags yesterday for WW)..I made it with a half hour to spare! Anyhoo, I would LOVE this bag! It's adorable!