The season of pollen is upon us, and rough winds do shake the darling oaks of March. My car is covered in yellow dust, how about yours?
Did you know that Austin’s trees provide the city with 30.8% canopy cover? Here are some other stats about our urban forest:
- Every year, Austin’s trees remove 1,253 tons of pollutants from the air, which is worth about $2.8 million in avoided human health costs.
- Austin’s urban trees help capture stormwater and reduce runoff, which in turn helps to reduce the amount of pollutants entering our waterways
- By providing shade for buildings, Austin’s trees account for $4.9 million worth of avoided carbon emissions from power plants each year. This saves Austin residents $18.9 million a year in energy costs.
- Our trees help to mitigate climate change by storing 1.9 million tons of carbon, a service valued at $242 million. On top of that, each year they sequester an additional 92,000 tons of carbon, which is worth $11.6 million.
– Courtesy of Austin EcoNetwork and the USDA – Austin Urban Forest Report 2014