Today, roughly 240 million acres (12 percent) of land in the US is protected—and the Sierra Club has played a role in saving nearly all of it. Undeveloped land is vital to fighting climate change because it serves as a carbon sink. Forests absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and incorporate it into the roots and branches of trees. When a tree dies and decomposes, that absorbed carbon typically becomes part of the soil, where it can remain for millennia. Grasslands and rangelands play an important role, too, and can keep carbon in their roots and soil even after a fire.
Whether you’re surrounded by pitch pines on the East Coast, enjoy camping under the sequoias, or look forward to the magnolia blooms each year -- trees give back to us every single day. Let’s take a day to give back to them. Donate to protect undeveloped lands.
