full transcript:

from unclean air hovering over cities to unhealthy smoke in homes, air pollution continues to put human health and climate on the line. cameroon, popularly referred to as africa in miniature, is reputed for its geographical and cultural diversity, especially when it comes to traditional meals. for most cameroonians, the three stone fireside method of cooking transcends just making food. it speaks to generational cultures and bonds built over moonlight folklore and folktales of their shared history.

but, for the longest time, the process of preparing these meals has been largely powered by biomass fuels, made possible by the cutting down of trees. the health challenges associated with exposure to these cooking methods cannot be undermined as about 3.2 million worldwide deaths in 2020 were attributed to household air pollution, according to the world health organization. despite these health consequences, most people across sub-saharan africa still cannot afford clean cooking technologies.

aisata ibamie is a young renewable energy engineer, innovative clean energy activist, and a mandela washington fellow (mwf) from logone, a charey village in the far north region of cameroon, and she has had first-hand experience with the challenges of cooking in the country. (in full disclosure, mwf is where this author first met ibamie.) growing up in a rural community, fetching firewood for cooking was one of her least favorite chores –– a routine she shares with more than 70% of cameroonians who still do not have access to clean cooking technologies, as revealed by the world bank. 

driven by curiosity, ibamie’s rare passion and determination to change this narrative for cameroonians led to her creation of an energy efficient and affordable cooker: a cordless, portable, and non-electric bag made from cotton. ibamie hopes the asaab thermal cooker will go a long way to reduce deforestation and carbon dioxide emissions.

“if i want to cook red beans for example, it often takes us two to three hours with firewood or gas. with the thermal cooker, you need just 15 minutes of gas or firewood to boil it, take it off and place in the asaab thermal cooker and close. after 3 hours, it is ready. rice is just 25 minutes on the cooker after heating on any classical fire for 3 minutes. you can leave the food in the cooker for up to 10 hours and it will still be hot when you get back. our customers testify that they are preparing red beans, meat, and others. this is a way for the woman to be free. we have natural and artificial carbon footprints. using the asaab thermal cooker reduces co2.”

the tragic and avoidable chronic illnesses from unhealthy cookstoves continue to put women and girls at the most vulnerable positions as they often stand at the frontline of gathering fuels and preparing meals. to ibamie, providing the thermal cooker solution will not only save lives and the climate, but go a long way to address gender inequalities and promote girl child education in cameroon. 

“one of the motivations for the asaab thermal cooker is that i come from the far north region of cameroon, where women are often marginalized. so they don’t really go to school as they are are expected to take care of the family and not supposed to be educated in school. every time they are cooking — for up to three times per day. always cooking, so they don’t have to go anywhere because they are controlling food. for me, it was a way to give them a chance to take care of the family and also go to school, do business, or go on vacation if they want to. in fact, to be free of always going to the kitchen every time.”

a recent research publication in the pan african medical journal found that indoor pollution already kills about 7,000 people in cameroon annually. considering the numerous kitchen accidents recorded from cooking appliances, ibamie designed the asaab thermal cooker with user-safety in mind.

“i was thinking about safety. i wanted something light that customers would not need too much (experience) to use. the asaab thermal cooker is very safe to use as you don’t have to plug into current or put in the sun before using. it is very simple to use. even your children can come back from school, open it, and serve themselves easily — unlike gas, where you maybe worried that they are exposed to fire, which is very dangerous for the household.”

as the number of internally displaced women and girls continue to rise in cameroon due to security concerns such as the ongoing anglophone crisis in the northwest and southwest regions, and the boko haram insurgency in the northern regions of the country, ibamie believes the thermal cooker could not be more timely.

“the cooker is a blessing for displaced women because they are never stable. they are always moving from one place to another, so it is easy to handle. it is very light. it is less than three kilograms (approximately 6.5 pounds) and you can pack it in a handbag and you go anywhere you want to go with. i can say it is very practical.”

as an emerging young african leader, participating in the 2022 mandela washington fellowship at the university of reno, nevada, served as an opportunity to scale her business by expanding to new markets.

“i met fellows that i can work together with, in the same areas like cooking and climate change and thermal energy efficiency. so yes, i really met people and made customers who brought me other customers, so i have to ship asaab thermal cookers to the u.s.”

by helping to reduce the cutting of trees, ibamie is contributing to one of the focal points of the united nations environmental program (unep), which is to achieve a significant reduction in deforestation while boosting agricultural productivity. it also aligns nicely with one of the resolutions of the climate pact during the 26th edition of the united nations conference of parties in glasgow (cop26 glasgow climate pact), which hammered on the protection, conservation, and restoration of natural ecosystems such as forests.

according to project drawdown, if global adoption of clean cookstoves grows to 16% by 2050, 15.8 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced. as the world prepares to unite for the 27th u.n. conference in egypt to reflect on the progress with pledges and commitments to accelerate global actions in the climate fight, ibamie hopes that access to clean cooking will give climate delegates food for thought.

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[editor’s note: this transcript was edited for clarity.]

but to a small selection of researchers, that’s where all the action happens. underneath the snow lies a whole other world, an ecosystem of tunnels where many rodents, insects, microbes, and hibernators live over the cold winter months. it’s called the subnivium, and as global temperatures rise, climate change threatens this little haven and the organisms that rely on it. 

the subnivium forms under very specific conditions — conditions which can vary depending on the type of vegetation and climate of the area. in much of the northern midwest, where university of wisconsin wildlife ecologist jonathon pauli conducts fieldwork, the subnivium forms after a snowfall of around 15 centimeters (nearly 6 inches) and at temperatures at freezing or below.

according to pauli, the snow has to reach a certain thickness before it’s able to provide any insulation for the animals that live down there — too thin, and it’s just going to melt, or the cold will get through. usually, the subnivium temperature hovers around the freezing mark, pauli says, much warmer than the sub-freezing temperatures above and the perfect conditions for the organisms that call the subnivium home to thrive. 

“the way it forms is that you get enough snow that solar radiation will go through the snow and heat the ground. and so you’ll get a heat differential — the soil will be slightly warmer than the snow, just above freezing,” pauli says. “and when that happens, then you get melt. and warm air carrying that evaporated snow then moves up from the ground into the snow column, and it creates this pocket right at the interface of the soil and the snow.”

the subnivium can be as small as a little pocket of air beneath the snow in some areas, to as large as a network of tunnels navigable by small animals in others, pauli said. the size and breadth of the subnivium depends on the conditions allowing it to form, and researchers still aren’t sure what its scale is in many places, since it’s so difficult to study. 

many of the organisms that live in the subnivium depend on it to survive the long winter. but as temperatures increase across the globe, the creation of the subnivium, its geographic distribution, and the length that it lasts could come under fire. 

“the winter season is shortened because of warmer temperatures,” pauli said. “warmer temperatures mean that precipitation still falls, obviously, but rather than falling as snow, it’s increasingly falling as rain. and so we’re not getting the snowpacks that we used to see. that means the snowpack is getting lighter and that’s not good for the subnivium. and then you get rain on snow events and that can lead to the compression of the subnivium.”

recently, pauli’s lab and fellow uw-madison wildlife ecologist benjamin zuckerberg’s lab investigated the potential implications of climate change on the subnivium with a joint study using tiny greenhouses. 

kimberly thompson, a graduate student in zuckerberg’s lab, helped set up the study using greenhouses at nine different “warming sites” spread throughout the midwest — six in wisconsin, one in minnesota, and two in the upper peninsula of michigan — and in three different cover types — open areas, conifer forests, and deciduous forests. according to thompson, the greenhouses were about eight feet square by 10 feet tall, which is smaller than a normal greenhouse, but still large enough to make setting up in natural forests difficult. 

each site had three greenhouses — one for control, with the inside temperature the same as the outside, one to simulate temperatures three degrees celsius warmer, and one to simulate temperatures five degrees celsius warmer. united nations emissions experts estimate climate warming between 3 to 5 degrees centigrade by 2050, so thompson said they wanted to simulate these temperature changes. the greenhouses had retractable roofs to incorporate the natural rain and snow patterns. 

over the course of the experiment, the team found that at three degrees above, the subnivium didn’t experience too much change. but, in the five degrees above greenhouses, the subnivium area and duration went way down, demonstrating a clear reaction to the increased temperature. 

to thompson, the subnivium persisting at three degrees above current temperature was a positive surprise. but, thompson said it’s important to act now against climate change to prevent dangerous implications down the line. 

“i was happily surprised to see that contrary to my expectations, subnivia can still generally persist throughout the great lakes region with warming of 3 degrees celsius,” thompson said. “while we still hope that more sweeping, global interventions can prevent this level of warming, this resiliency could potentially buffer the subnivium from being completely eradicated and provide land managers with time to manage habitats in a way that promotes a longer lasting subnivium.”

to pauli, protecting the subnivium for years into the future could mean a variety of wildlife management tactics. for one, managing the landscape to support snow persistence — for example, planting certain kinds of vegetation that might take longer for snow to melt off of. or buffering landscapes to minimize the negative effects from snow loss — which could mean creating habitat features for these smaller animals that could take the place of snow. or, as a last resort, setting up wildlife refuges in northern areas where the snowpack will continue to be high for years and years into the future, at least until we can start to mitigate climate change. 

“there are a few different routes we can go to solve climate change, other than just thinking about carbon emission, other than just thinking about how we can attenuate climate change itself,” pauli said. “we can also think about the downstream — what can we manage to promote these species?” 

reports have found land use change will be the biggest driving factor in biodiversity loss in the tropics with co2 concentration barely following behind. for costa rica, it is found to be the same case with traditional cacao agroforestry systems being replaced for more lucrative and economically sustainable cash crops such as plantains or bananas. additionally, the abandonment of traditional shade tree practices within the remaining cacao systems are devastating to local forest communities.

traditional shade tree practices are including native tree species creating a forest canopy that can sustain life while producing economic income for the land owner. without biodiversity, ecosystems will collapse due to holes being formed within the niche systems of this system.

in this video, learn about biodiversity through the eyes of a tree in costa rica, where it witnesses the impact of humans on its environment — from canopy loss to animal migration.

this piece reflects my desire to savor the world, and to enjoy the profound experiences that make up this unique place. 

in this piece i hope to have captured a glimpse of sierra leone for those who have not been there before. i hope to show how some of the smallest and most simple moments can also be the most beautiful. the rainy season “brings the forest to life,” with unique sights, sounds, and smells. these are some of the things that i saw during july and august of 2019, during my time at tacugama chimpanzee sanctuary, located in the western area forest reserve.  

although there are prominent human and environmental challenges that need to be addressed in sierra leone, this video focuses on the present beauties and successes that also exist. 

i want to add to the expanding collection of stories and experiences that are told about this place, because the media often portrays sierra leone, or “mama salone,” in a light that is not truly reflective of its people and their circumstances. i am beyond grateful to have witnessed the beauty of the people who live here, the beauty of the rainforest, and the beauty of the plant and animal life which inhabit it. this piece is an appreciation and documentation of salone, but, as with many alike, does not encompass the whole story. 

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source: music is copyright-free, courtesy of rage productions on youtube.

there’s something that all creatures fear in our forest. 

it never breathes. 

it never sleeps. 

it never lives. 

the birds hear it first.  

a foreboding rumble that never seems to stop, 

emanating from a predator hidden in the trees.  

limbs grow heavy as the birds shy away from the sound,  

too loud for them to bear.  

the monkeys see it next.  

a humongous form of metal, 

seemingly growing in height as it gets closer and closer. 

it tears trees from the roots upward, 

with barely a scratch on its steely body. 

the tree frogs smell the burning. 

it penetrates their nostrils with the scent of pollution, 

making their eyes water and stinging their throats.  

the rainforest is unaccustomed to their silenced peeps.  

it scares them to death. 

the beetles feel the fear coursing through the creatures. 

they know their pain and sorrow, 

understanding the detrimental effects this destruction has caused. 

the falling of each tree causes a massive impact, 

each beetle plummeting from the branches to their doom. 

the plants taste the corruption of the forest. 

the refreshing drink of water is replaced with sour oil, 

the metal soaking into their roots. 

they have come to know the forest for centuries 

yet shrivel away from the poisoned soil. 

the creatures have lived in this forest, 

thriving for years upon years. 

but now a new leader has taken over, 

leaving few survivors. 

the machine rules the land. 

the creatures lost the battle 

and feel it in their souls. 

the creatures are now dead, 

while the machine lives. 

—

the amazon rainforest’s beginning stretches back to many, many millennia ago, before the existence of humans. it created a way for billions of creatures to all survive in the same landscape. but recently, within the last 40 years, the amazon has been in trouble. and the results haven’t started to show until these last few years. the amazon rainforest is catching on fire at a vast rate, and the deforestation rate is one the forest can’t sustain. it’s out of control. this occurred because the government and people living near the amazon have little to no regard about what’s happening. thy may seem indifferent, but they have bigger plans on their minds that seem better than that of saving a useless rainforest. the government, as of january 2019, has made drastic changes to the way brazil hosts the amazon rainforest, as well as other countries that like bolivia. this must change so that the amazon can return to its original state of well-being. 

as brazil president jair bolsonaro changes his country’s policies into less environmentally friendly and more economically sound, the amazon starts to burn. many assume that the amazon is burning because of climate change, and while that might play a role, the political changes show where the root problem actually lies. the government allows their own people to participate in the destruction of the forests in the amazon. people destroy large amounts of the amazon for their own gain every day and that continues to rise as less government action takes place. bolsonaro is changing the way people perceive the amazon all over brazil, while the world watches the “lungs of the world” burn. 

something needs to change within the way everyone around the world views the environment. people need to realize that they have a major impact on the environment and how people around the world see the destruction occurring, especially in the amazon. the amazon plays a key role in the prosperity of the world, so to watch it burn is like a cut right to the heart. we see many interconnections with how the government treats the environment and how that, in turn, causes the citizens of brazil to destroy one of the only tropical forests still intact. the people don’t see an issue with what they do since their farming and economy has much more importance than that of the environment. of course, there are always exceptions to these people, as many are also fighting the destruction of the amazon. if the amazon continues to burn, these people will lose their livelihoods and, potentially, their lives. the destruction of the amazon rainforest will leave a lasting impact on how the governments treat the environment and how citizens react to these changes, whether positive or negative. 

but amid the environmental wreckage, some trees remain untouched. these trees are wrapped in iconic bright orange robes and deemed sacred, protected from harm and destruction. these trees have been ordained as monks.

at a time when pope francis is calling upon religious leaders to step up as environmental advocates, thai buddhist monks are answering the call. through rituals like tree ordinations, some monks in thailand are integrating buddhist principles into the environmental movement in order to garner support from their followers and encourage sustainable practices.

dr. susan darlington, professor of anthropology and asian studies at hampshire college in the u.s. and author of the book the ordination of a tree, explains that protecting trees is a form of merit-making, an important practice in buddhism. by accumulating merit through performing good deeds, buddhists are ensuring a better next life and taking a step closer to reaching enlightenment and, ultimately, nirvana.

“making merit is extremely important for thai buddhists,” darlington said. “they see (tree ordination ceremonies) as an act of making merit, which can help with rebirth and, in some cases, having a better life now.”

one of the primary goals in the buddhist religion is to end suffering, and the forests of thailand are certainly suffering.

“there are places in northern thailand, particularly in nan province, where there has been a lot of deforestation, so the watersheds areas fill the water with mud, silt, and pesticide runoff causing more severe flooding in the rainy season and more severe drought in the dry season,” said gordon congdon, the conservation program manager for wwf-thailand. “in many ways, climate change is amplifying problems that are already existing.”

with over 90% of the thai population practicing buddhism, monks hold an influential role as leaders to whom people look for guidance in all aspects of life.

“they become the leader that people would trust,” said dr. chaya vaddhanaphuti, a geography professor at chiang mai university whose ph.d. studies focused on climate change. “if i asked the farmers who they would choose to trust between government officers and the monks, they would choose the latter.”

with such an immense amount of influence in villages throughout thailand, monks are utilizing their position to add a unique moral dimension to the environmental movement. however, rituals alone are not enough.

although buddhism is typically a religion famed for its detachment from society, ecology monks believe that their religion is inherently tied to nature. buddhist monks like phrakhu ajan somkit, who is based in nan province in northern thailand where deforestation is an issue of major concern, are entering the political sphere to consult with government officials on environmental initiatives and rights for rural farmers. other monks, like phrakhu win mektripop, an ecology monk based in bangkok, are trying to find more sustainable solutions to everyday problems by implementing solar panels in temples and helping villagers create cheap huts out of mud and natural materials.

“when the buddha was born, he was born under the tree. he was enlightened under the tree. his first sermon was under the tree. we can see that most of his life was related to the forest,” said phra win. with a master’s degree in environmental economics from chulalongkorn university, phra win understands how important agriculture is to the rural population of thailand.

as thailand shifted from a low-income to an upper-income society in less than a generation, however, sustainability hasn’t exactly been the focus of the country’s economic development. for instance, big companies like cp all public, which owns over 10,000 7-eleven stores in thailand, are taking advantage of the rapid pace of growth by contracting rural farmers to mass-produce monocrops like maize and rice.

“they plant corn, they harvest it, they sell it to the big company and earn just about enough to pay off their debt,” said congdon. “it creates this vicious cycle of dependency on the large companies and the farmers never get ahead, which leads to more and more deforestation.”

seeing no other options, these farmers continue unsustainable practices that are stripping the soil of valuable nutrients and plunging them deeper into debt. however, ecology monks are working to provide an alternative that is beneficial to both the environment and the people.

another one of the most harmful environmental issues in thailand is simply a lack of knowledge.

“when i lived with the farmers during my ph.d. studies, they never used the term climate change,” said vaddhanaphuti. “however, they knew that the climate had changed from how it was affecting their farms.”

in order to help teach rural farmers about the environment, phrakhu sangkom thanapanyo khunsuri, a prominent ecology monk based in chiang mai, developed an alternative farming school through his temple in chonburi called the maab-euang meditation center for sufficiency economy. with 49 full-time students this year, phra sangkom mixes buddhist concepts of personal reflection and a theory called “sufficiency economy.” this theory was developed by the previous thai king, bhumibol adulyadej, and encourages subsistence farming, self-sufficiency, and a detachment from material goods.

along with teaching classes at his school and working in the field, phra sangkom often travels throughout surin and chiang mai on speaking tours to bring his philosophy directly to the people. each speech typically has over 100 attendees, he says.

“if the people understand that the jungle gives them oxygen, water, good food, medicine, and clothes, do you think they are going to help protect it?” phra sangkom asked as he gestured to his own farm, which was filled with mangoes, bananas, rice, and more. “of course!”

ecology monks like phra sangkom have been marked as leading environmental advocates in thailand, but some have also been marked with a target on their back.

as their environmental influence spreads throughout thailand, monks are helping to obtain more community forest rights for indigenous people and farmers, which takes land away from both the government and logging and oil companies. some monks have been prosecuted by the thai government for their controversial activism. others have been assassinated, like phrakhu supoj suvacano, an ecology monk involved in trying to prevent the land around a meditation center in chiang mai from being converted into a tangerine farm.

even in the face of these threats, many ecology monks continue their work, which has started to receive help and support from other outlets, like local universities and ngos.

“we are figuring out how we can bring the buddhists who are just sitting and meditating out into the world to deal with the suffering,” said somboon chungprampree, executive director of the international network of engaged buddhists, an organization which is working to connect activist buddhists and non-buddhists from all over asia. “there is not just personal suffering; there is social and environmental suffering out there and people need to figure out how they can help as a buddhist.”

surrounded by protected forest, residents of ambodivohitra and land managers at the world wildlife foundation reveal how commodity crops and wood use affect on-the-ground conservation practices in the rainforests of northeast madagascar. 

learn more about the people and forests of madagascar in my story below:

editor’s note: story four in our stories of alaska series focuses on the timber industry — one part of the resource-rich puzzle that is alaska — and the yearslong debate over the “roadless area conservation” rule, put in place by the usda in 2001, which disallows construction of any new road system in national forest land and effectively makes it impossible for companies to extract new resources that aren’t already accessible. click the story below to read more about the arguments for and against exemptions to the rule for alaska.

in an increasingly moral and technologically advanced society, he had great timing: 70% of millennials said they were more likely to pay extra for a product that contributes to a cause they care about, so when ecosia launched in 2009, it was extremely well received.

ecosia is a search engine that generates revenue from ads, like any other search engine. however, they use 80% of this profit to fund tree planting projects around the world. a certified b corporation, ecosia has had impact all over the world, working with organizations like the world wildlife fund and the the nature conservancy.

why trees? trees and humans have a long history together. trees, like humans, are the among the most complex of organisms. living up to 5,000 years old, they have profound impact on the surrounding landscape, shaping the ecosystems around them in intricate ways.

trees can be sources of food, can provide habitats for endangered animal species, can sequester immense amounts of carbon dioxide out of the air, and contribute to biodiversity and ecological health. they bring life back into the soil around them, due to mutualistic partnerships between tree roots and mycorrhizal fungi. and this in turn can stimulate other plant life and animal resources. trees are important for regulating water: they can act as buffers against flooding, but can also fight against desertification. trees also are important in creating good air quality.

ecosia estimates that every search on their web browser sequesters about 1 kg, or 2.2 pounds, of carbon from our atmosphere.

ecosia works with local communities in order to determine what these communities need. the diverse effect of trees on their environments can almost always be a part of the solution, but more than that, ecosia empowers local communities and stimulates local economic growth by getting passionate community members involved. while oftentimes working with big third party partners on the ground, such as the eden reforestation projects or the jane goodall institute, ecosia also works directly with small communities, sometimes one or two community members, who have a vision of restoring environmental health to their regions. by working directly with community members, ecosia generates local jobs, stimulates passion, and increases local economic growth.

this is evident in the san martin region of peru, which was largely deforested in the 1980s as it became a red zone for cocaine production. ecosia’s partners on the ground, pur projet, is working with community members, teaching them about forest management and sustainable harvesting, and providing local jobs planting trees. they are now growing cocoa instead of coca.

jacey bingler, ecosia’s head of pr and country director usa, joined the team in 2015. after completing a degree in journalism she had worked in communications and publishing, but felt that her work was unfulfilling and had no greater impact on the world. when she joined ecosia, she immediately felt motivated and supported by the people and mission surrounding her.

businesses with social missions are often more successful because the people behind them are passionate about what they do and believe in the mission. this is certainly true of ecosia, as jacey says, it is very uplifting and has a positive impact on her work to be around such “enthusiastic people.” she says that this kind of work environment can make it harder when something does not work out the way you wanted, because you believe in the mission so much, but it also provides a community of people that support you when things don’t work out.

ecosia has planted over 25 million trees already and has over 70 million users. they aim to plant 1 billion trees by the year 2020. partnering with bing and using the money generated from ads to plant trees, ecosia has an extremely scalable business model, with the success of having planted 25 million trees already, and the bright future of developing an even larger user base and generating more revenue to plant trees.

currently their user base is widely european, australasian, and south american, with only 10% of their users coming from the usa. they are hesitant, however, to spend money on ad campaigns when it could be spent planting more trees. this is territory that they are navigating thoughtfully, doing cost-benefit analyses in order to determine if their ad campaigns will generate more money than they cost, or at least break even.

another core value of ecosia is transparency. they publish monthly business reports and tree planting receipts and updates on ongoing projects, generating stories from their sites on the ground. in ethiopia they are making a difference on the ground, directly interacting with and influencing communities. in february, 2018, they generated 793,636 euros, 52% of which they invested in tree planting. minus operating costs, this equals 80% of their surplus. they funded tree planting projects in indonesia, tanzania, and madagascar.

in the future, ecosia wants to create an option for sustainable searches. because search engines influence behavior so much, this leverage point could be used in order to drive more sustainable behavior. when you search something on any search engine, the likelihood that you end up clicking, buying, or doing the first option is 42%. the likelihood of clicking the second option is only 12%. this power of convenience could be harnessed so that the next time you are looking to buy a washing machine, instead of the first result popping up being a new, unsustainably made washing machine from lowe’s, the first result could be an innovative, sustainable version of the washing machine from a new startup, or a used washing machine that someone in your area is selling. by making sustainable options accessible and easy, this idea has huge potential for changing the way that users think and behave, but most importantly, consume.

while this idea is in its earliest stages, the world needs a sustainable search engine function, especially when other search engines, like google, refuse to work with any charitable versions. ecosia originally partnered with google, however, google backed out of their agreement a few weeks after launching due to the fear that a search engine with a charitable cause would generate false clicks on ads. in order to protect their clients, google drew out and drafted a statement in their bylaws saying that they would not partner with charitable search engines in the future. in ecosia’s nine years of experience, there has been no data to support this assumption, according to bingler.

when you go outside, be mindful of the trees around you and take the time to appreciate all the work that they do for your local ecosystem. and next time that you go online, remember to install ecosia as your default browser; you can be a part of an important mission to improve lives and environments everywhere by planting trees.