Make Thousands by Doing One Simple Thing to Your Home

By Dr. Mercola

Having trees around your home can provide you and your community with a number of benefits.
According to Arborday.org, trees around your home can increase your property value by more than 15 percent and improve your odds of a sale.
Trees also do the following wonderful things for you and the environment:

• Decrease carbon dioxide and increase oxygen levels in the atmosphere
• Improve water quality and reduce erosion
• Give songbirds a home, and provide food for all kinds of wildlife
• Provide shade in summer and a windbreak in winter, thereby reducing your cooling and heating costs
• Beautifying your home and neighborhood, and adding curb appeal

How to Properly Plant a Tree

If you want to plant some trees but are not sure how to go about it, organic arborist and author Howard Garrett (aka, the Dirt Doctor) can end your ambivalence with his simple, straightforward steps to tree planting. Planting a tree the right way involves six basic steps:

1. Dig a wide rough-sided hole 
2. Run a "perk test" for drainage
3. Prepare the root ball
4. Set the root ball in the hole with backfilled soil
5. Settle the soil with water
6. Mulch the surface

According to Garrett, almost all trees planted today are being planted incorrectly. The most serious problem is that they are planted too deep. When the top of the root ball and the root flare are buried under the ground, hidden roots can circle and "girdle" the trunk, choking off nutrients and weakening the tree, which makes it susceptible to blowing over. Another problem is, when soil comes up too high on a trunk, the covered bark tissue stays moist all the time and plant growth is dramatically slowed or even stopped.
Garrett writes:

"Trees that are too deep can be uncovered with an Air Spade [a professional tool] or by hand, but the best solution is to plant trees correctly in the first place."

He also does not recommend staking, wrapping trunks or using other unnecessary and damaging techniques.

When is the Ideal Time to Plant Your Tree?

Fall is a great time to plant trees due to moderate temperatures and rainfall allowing them to acclimatize and grow strong roots before the heat and dryness of summer. Springtime planting works well too, depending on your region. So grab your garden tools and a handsome young tree, and let's get this party started!

Digging the Right Sized Hole: Measure Twice, Dig Once

Since your hole should be dug to exactly the same depth as the height of your root ball, make your life easy and actually measure the root ball. Never plant a tree in slick-sided or glazed holes, such as those created by a tree spade or auger, unless the slick sides are destroyed during planting. Holes with glazed sides can prevent your tree's roots from penetrating the surrounding soil and can cause circling roots and improper root development.
The next step is to evaluate your drainage.

The Perks of Good Drainage

Good drainage is critical, so please do not skip this step. Simply fill the hole with water and wait until the next day. If the water level does not drain away overnight, you have a drainage problem. In this case, you might want to either choose another site, or add some additional drainage.
One method that sometimes works is PVC drain line set in gravel running from the hole to a lower point on the site. Or, install a pier hole dug down from the bottom of the hole into a different soil type and filled with gravel. Once you know your tree has adequate drainage, you are then ready to prepare the roots for planting.

Root Ball Preparation

If your tree is wrapped in burlap, you'll want to leave the burlap on the sides of the ball for planting, but loosen the burlap at the trunk and remove it from the top of the ball. Remove any nylon twine or plastic covering, string, or wire mesh, since these materials do not decompose and can girdle the tree's trunk and roots as it grows.
If your tree is in a plastic container, carefully remove it from that pot, cutting the pot off if necessary. If the roots have grown solidly against the sides of the container, use a sharp garden knife to tear through the outside roots so they can more easily spread outward from the root ball into the surrounding soil. You should have at least nine inches of root ball for each one inch of trunk diameter. If your tree is in soil, use a spade or a brush to remove excess soil from the top of the root ball, as well as the "bird's nest" of circling roots.
This is very important for the long-term health of your tree. If your tree is a bare-root specimen, it is critical to keep the roots moist during the transportation and planting process. Now you're ready to set your little tree into the ground!

Set in Place, and Backfill with Existing Soil

Place the root ball into the hole, backfilling it with the soil you dug out—some existing rocks included are okay. You don't need to add sand, foreign soil, organic matter, or fertilizer—the roots need the native soil from the beginning.
According to the Dirt Doctor:

"Adding amendments such as peat moss, sand or foreign soils to the backfill not only wastes money, but is detrimental to the tree. Putting gravel in the bottom of the hole is a total waste of money."

Make sure you have not planted the tree too deeply. You should see the entire trunk above soil level, including the "root flare," which is actually part of the trunk. It's better to plant the tree too shallow than too deep, because there will be some settling, and you don't want the roots to be deprived of circulating air.

NO STOMPING! Just Water, Water, Water

To settle the soil, don't stomp on it—you're not making wine. Stepping on the soil will create air pockets, and the roots will die in these areas. Instead, use water—and lots of it.

Thank You Very Mulch

The final step in this labor of love is to mulch the tree.  Add about one inch of compost and three inches of mulch on top of that, such as shredded cedar, tapering to zero inches at the trunk. In other words, as you get farther from the trunk, the mulch gets deeper.
Never plant grass over the tree ball until the tree is established. Make sure to remove any tags.

What NOT to Do

As I mentioned in the beginning, there are several things NOT to do to your tree during planting.

1. Wrapping: Trunks of newly planted trees should not be wrapped. Wrapping looks unattractive, harbors insects, and leaves the bark weak when the wrap is removed. Garrett compares tree wrapping to a bandage left on your finger too long. If sunburn is a concern, it is much better to paint the trunk with a diluted latex paint that matches the color of the bark, or white.
2. Staking: If your tree's root ball is the proper size, staking is unnecessary and a waste of time and money, as well as being detrimental to the tree because it restricts the tree's natural ability to develop a strong trunk. It can also cause damage to the cambium layer, which is responsible for wound healing.
   
   Only in rare circumstances (sandy soil, tall evergreen trees, etc.) will staking be of any benefit, and only temporarily and as a last resort. If your tree needs to be staked for a while, connect the guy wires as low on the trunk as possible and remove the stakes as soon as possible—never leave them on more than one growing season. Temporary staking should be done with strong wire and metal eyebolts screwed into the trunk.
3. Pruning: Most trees fare much better if all the limbs and foliage are left intact. Your new tree needs ALL those branches, and the leaves they bear, to gather the nutrients it needs to build a strong root system, which is the key to your tree's overall health. Even low limbs and foliage should be left on your tree for at least two growing seasons.
   
   The only trees that seem to respond positively to thinning at the time of transplanting are field-collected live oak, yaupon holly and a few other evergreens. Plants purchased in containers are best left unpruned, and deciduous trees should never be pruned. The only pruning should be dead limbs, limbs that are crossing and damaging a larger limb, and weakest of any co-dominant limbs. Co-dominant limbs grow close together in the same direction and inch together with age causing weak convections and decay.

Are you interested in growing a tree from seed? If so, take a look at Howard Garrett's video about how you can do this. He also has an article on natural, organic tree care you might find helpful in caring for your new tree. It seems appropriate to end with a nice quote from Howard Garrett that seems to reflect the respect and admiration he has for trees:

"People don't grow trees. Trees grow in spite of people. For the most part, trees are tough, durable and easy to plant and transplant if treated in a sensible and natural way."

References:

• Arborday.org
• North Carolina Cooperative Extension
• Trees Are Good

Research on oldest skeleton in Malaysia

The remains of what archaeologists believe to be the oldest skeleton ever found in the country – dating back 16,000 years – will be returned to the site where it was found in Gua Bewah, near here.
To date, local researchers have yet to verify the gender of the remains but they have named the skeleton “Bewah Man” after the cave, near Tasik Kenyir, where it was discovered two years ago.
The skeleton is currently being kept under lock and key at the Terengganu State Museum here, where some 15 archaeologists and scientists had been toiling daily to unlock its mystery.
The Bewah Man is expected to return “home” by the year’s end.
Museum director Yusof Abdullah said local experts and archaeolo-gists were busy constructing the appropriate casing for the special remains.
“Research on the remains is coming to an end. Thus, it is only right for the remains to be returned to Gua Bewah.
“We will ensure that the remains are undisturbed and well-preserved,” he said yesterday.
On unlocking the mystery of the gender of the Bewah Man, Yusof said a team of archaeologists recently discovered dental remains at the dig site in Gua Bewah.
“We believe the new discovery is that of the Bewah Man. However, we will run more tests.
“We hope it will shed some light into the gender of the oldest skeleton in the country,” he said.
He added that all skeletal remains discovered at the site had been sent to experts in the United States for assistance.
“We require help from overseas in order to discover the gender of the skeletal remains.
“We are still awaiting the results of the tests,” he said.
Yusof said local archaeologists are hard at work at the dig site in order to uncover more prehistoric treasures.

Cool it - Global Warming

The current cycle of global warming is changing the rhythms of climate that all living things have come to rely upon. What will we do to slow this warming? How will we cope with the changes we've already set into motion? While we struggle to figure it all out, the face of the Earth as we know it—coasts, forests, farms, and snowcapped mountains—hangs in the balance.

The evidence that humans are causing global warming is strong, but the question of what to do about it remains controversial. Economics, sociology, and politics are all important factors in planning for the future.
Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases (GHGs) today, the Earth would still warm by another degree Fahrenheit or so. But what we do from today forward makes a big difference.  Depending on our choices, scientists predict that the Earth could eventually warm by as little as 2.5 degrees or as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
A commonly cited goal is to stabilize GHG concentrations around 450-550 parts per million (ppm), or about twice pre-industrial levels. This is the point at which many believe the most damaging impacts of climate change can be avoided.  Current concentrations are about 380 ppm, which means there isn't much time to lose.  According to the IPCC, we'd have to reduce GHG emissions by 50% to 80% of what they're on track to be in the next century to reach this level.
Is this possible?
Many people and governments are already working hard to cut greenhouse gases, and everyone can help.
Researchers Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow at Princeton University have suggested one approach that they call "stabilization wedges." This means reducing GHG emissions from a variety of sources with technologies available in the next few decades, rather than relying on an enormous change in a single area.  They suggest 7 wedges that could each reduce emissions, and all of them together could hold emissions at approximately current levels for the next 50 years, putting us on a potential path to stabilize around 500 ppm.
There are many possible wedges, including improvements to energy efficiency and vehicle fuel economy (so less energy has to be produced), and increases in wind and solar power, hydrogen produced from renewable sources, biofuels (produced from crops), natural gas, and nuclear power.  There is also the potential to capture the carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fuels and store it underground—a process called "carbon sequestration."
In addition to reducing the gases we emit to the atmosphere, we can also increase the amount of gases we take out of the atmosphere.  Plants and trees absorb CO2 as they grow, "sequestering" carbon naturally.  Increasing forestlands and making changes to the way we farm could increase the amount of carbon we're storing.
Some of these technologies have drawbacks, and different communities will make different decisions about how to power their lives, but the good news is that there are a variety of options to put us on a path toward a stable climate.

Ready for Your Carbon Close-Up?

What You Can Do
To reduce exposure to allergens and lung irritants:
• Check your local weather reports for air quality, including smog and pollen counts, before spending time out of doors. If outdoor air is polluted, keep windows closed. Exercise in early morning, before smog and pollen rise with the day's heat.
• Use a doormat to reduce tracking-in of dirt and particles. Leave shoes by the door.
• Remove carpets, in which pollutants collect, and wash area rugs.
• Use HEPA filters, which remove microscopic pollen particles, in vacuum cleaners, air-purifying machines, and air conditioners.
• Take refuge in air-conditioned bookstores, museums, cafés, or movie theaters when air is bad.
To help reduce global-warming gases:
• Choose energy-efficient electrical appliances.
• Drive less. Walk, bike, skate, or take public transportation. You'll also burn more calories (30 percent of Americans are obese).
• Ask Congress and the White House to preserve and enforce the Clean Air Act.

Solar Energy

Every hour the sun beams onto Earth more than enough energy to satisfy global energy needs for an entire year. Solar energy is the technology used to harness the sun's energy and make it useable. Today, the technology produces less than one tenth of one percent of global energy demand.
Many people are familiar with so-called photovoltaic cells, or solar panels, found on things like spacecraft, rooftops, and handheld calculators. The cells are made of semiconductor materials like those found in computer chips. When sunlight hits the cells, it knocks electrons loose from their atoms. As the electrons flow through the cell, they generate electricity.
On a much larger scale, solar thermal power plants employ various techniques to concentrate the sun's energy as a heat source. The heat is then used to boil water to drive a steam turbine that generates electricity in much the same fashion as coal and nuclear power plants, supplying electricity for thousands of people.
In one technique, long troughs of U-shaped mirrors focus sunlight on a pipe of oil that runs through the middle. The hot oil then boils water for electricity generation. Another technique uses moveable mirrors to focus the sun's rays on a collector tower, where a receiver sits. Molten salt flowing through the receiver is heated to run a generator.
Other solar technologies are passive. For example, big windows placed on the sunny side of a building allow sunlight to heat-absorbent materials on the floor and walls. These surfaces then release the heat at night to keep the building warm. Similarly, absorbent plates on a roof can heat liquid in tubes that supply a house with hot water.
Solar energy is lauded as an inexhaustible fuel source that is pollution and often noise free. The technology is also versatile. For example, solar cells generate energy for far-out places like satellites in Earth orbit and cabins deep in the Rocky Mountains as easily as they can power downtown buildings and futuristic cars.
But solar energy doesn't work at night without a storage device such as a battery, and cloudy weather can make the technology unreliable during the day. Solar technologies are also very expensive and require a lot of land area to collect the sun's energy at rates useful to lots of people.
Despite the drawbacks, solar energy use has surged at about 20 percent a year over the past 15 years, thanks to rapidly falling prices and gains in efficiency. Japan, Germany, and the United States are major markets for solar cells. With tax incentives, solar electricity can often pay for itself in five to ten years.

Wind Power

Wind is the movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. In fact, wind exists because the sun unevenly heats the surface of the Earth. As hot air rises, cooler air moves in to fill the void. As long as the sun shines, the wind will blow. And as long as the wind blows, people will harness it to power their lives.
Ancient mariners used sails to capture the wind and explore the world. Farmers once used windmills to grind their grains and pump water. Today, more and more people are using wind turbines to wring electricity from the breeze. Over the past decade, wind turbine use has increased at more than 25 percent a year. Still, it only provides a small fraction of the world's energy.
Most wind energy comes from turbines that can be as tall as a 20-story building and have three 200-foot-long (60-meter-long) blades. These contraptions look like giant airplane propellers on a stick. The wind spins the blades, which turn a shaft connected to a generator that produces electricity. Other turbines work the same way, but the turbine is on a vertical axis and the blades look like a giant egg beater.
The biggest wind turbines generate enough electricity to supply about 600 U.S. homes. Wind farms have tens and sometimes hundreds of these turbines lined up together in particularly windy spots, like along a ridge. Smaller turbines erected in a backyard can produce enough electricity for a single home or small business.
Wind is a clean source of renewable energy that produces no air or water pollution. And since the wind is free, operational costs are nearly zero once a turbine is erected. Mass production and technology advances are making turbines cheaper, and many governments offer tax incentives to spur wind-energy development.
Some people think wind turbines are ugly and complain about the noise the machines make. The slowly rotating blades can also kill birds and bats, but not nearly as many as cars, power lines, and high-rise buildings do. The wind is also variable: If it's not blowing, there's no electricity generated.
Nevertheless, the wind energy industry is booming. Globally, generation more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2006. At the end of last year, global capacity was more than 70,000 megawatts. In the energy-hungry United States, a single megawatt is enough electricity to power about 250 homes. Germany has the most installed wind energy capacity, followed by Spain, the United States, India, and Denmark. Development is also fast growing in France and China.
Industry experts predict that if this pace of growth continues, by 2050 the answer to one third of the world's electricity needs will be found blowing in the wind.

Global Warming Solutions

What Can We Do?

The evidence that humans are causing global warming is strong, but the question of what to do about it remains controversial. Economics, sociology, and politics are all important factors in planning for the future.
Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases (GHGs) today, the Earth would still warm by another degree Fahrenheit or so. But what we do from today forward makes a big difference.  Depending on our choices, scientists predict that the Earth could eventually warm by as little as 2.5 degrees or as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
A commonly cited goal is to stabilize GHG concentrations around 450-550 parts per million (ppm), or about twice pre-industrial levels. This is the point at which many believe the most damaging impacts of climate change can be avoided.  Current concentrations are about 380 ppm, which means there isn't much time to lose.  According to the IPCC, we'd have to reduce GHG emissions by 50% to 80% of what they're on track to be in the next century to reach this level.
Is this possible?
Many people and governments are already working hard to cut greenhouse gases, and everyone can help.
Researchers Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow at Princeton University have suggested one approach that they call "stabilization wedges." This means reducing GHG emissions from a variety of sources with technologies available in the next few decades, rather than relying on an enormous change in a single area.  They suggest 7 wedges that could each reduce emissions, and all of them together could hold emissions at approximately current levels for the next 50 years, putting us on a potential path to stabilize around 500 ppm.
There are many possible wedges, including improvements to energy efficiency and vehicle fuel economy (so less energy has to be produced), and increases in wind and solar power, hydrogen produced from renewable sources, biofuels (produced from crops), natural gas, and nuclear power.  There is also the potential to capture the carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fuels and store it underground—a process called "carbon sequestration."
In addition to reducing the gases we emit to the atmosphere, we can also increase the amount of gases we take out of the atmosphere.  Plants and trees absorb CO2 as they grow, "sequestering" carbon naturally.  Increasing forestlands and making changes to the way we farm could increase the amount of carbon we're storing.
Some of these technologies have drawbacks, and different communities will make different decisions about how to power their lives, but the good news is that there are a variety of options to put us on a path toward a stable climate.