"Socks for Happy People partners with WeForest.com!"

Trees are brilliant.

They do some VERY cool stuff: they stabilize the climate and cool the air; they regulate the water cycle and absorb carbon dioxide, not to mention provide us with oxygen to breathe. They actually turn sunlight into life. Now that's clever.

Trees are pretty damn smart. Anyone who's seen the second Lord of the Rings film could tell you that.

But what a lot of people don't know is that trees actually make clouds. They release tiny particles and organisms into the atmosphere that increase humidity, which means cloud cover and rainfall increases.

If you're anything like I was when I first heard this, you may be asking yourself 'But why would we want more clouds and rain?' Living in England I can safely say we certainly see enough rain... surely we want less, not more of it? After all, that's why a lot of us Brits ferry ourselves away to sunny Spain every year, where often there's not a cloud in sight.

Well... while that may be good for a couple of weeks of relaxing in the sun with your sangria, if we'd like the Costa del Sol to still be above sea level by the time our grandchildren are old enough to enjoy its pleasures we would be well advised to start making more clouds... and quickly.

Why do we need more clouds?

Clouds, you see, have a cooling effect on our planet. They reflect a lot of the sun's light back out of the atmosphere and act as a very efficient natural shield, keeping our planet cool in the process. In fact, scientists estimate that just a 2% increase in worldwide cloud cover would be enough to completely halt and reverse climate change.

Wow! That's important data! Someone should do something about it!

Yes, you're absolutely right. And thankfully someone is. Those brilliant people are the dandy folks at WeForest.com, and they're committed to reforesting 20 million square kilometres of earth to halt climate change in its tracks, giving us enough time to develop truly sustainable solutions for a brighter future.

But really, won't it take TOO LONG to increase global cloud cover?!

Not as long as you'd think. Have a look at this really funky video which highlights a recent reforestation project in Borneo. Three years after reforestation guess how much cloud cover had increased by? What do you think? 1%, 2%, 5%... 7%?

The results will AMAZE you. This cool video (Narrated by Stephen Fry, duration: 4:44) reveals all:

Pretty cool, hey?

We thought so too, so when we saw WeForest.com founder Bill Liao present recently at TEDx in London, we knew Socks for Happy People had to get involved. It's just too important of a project not to.

So today we're very proud to announce that Socks for Happy People has become an official WeForest.com partner, meaning we'll be doing everything we can to support WeForest.com on their mission; this will be the first of many WeForest.com posts, I'm sure, and we'll keep you informed of developments as they happen.

So with COP15 happening in Copenhagen next month, be sure to remember just how amazing trees really are, all the things they do to help support us, and why we should do everything we can to help support them.

Trees = brilliant.

Makes me want to go out and hug them.

Do you love trees too? Please tell us what YOU think. What are your feelings about climate change? What did you think of the video? What do you think of the WeForest.com projects? Would you like to get involved? Click on the 'Comments' button below and share your thoughts with us!

Posted by: Tom Minter | 2009

Topics: Companies we love, Environmental Steps, Us Happy People | 9 Comments »

« "I smiled so much it didn't hurt!" | Home | Green Apples & Elephants – Great eco Chritmas party alternatives! »