I just got word of the amazing work 8 Billion Trees is doing both in Australia to help with the current fires as well as around the world. Sometimes things can feel pretty hopeless but seeing the work 8 Billion Trees is doing gives me hope.
Planting trees and saving animals in remote areas is more difficult than it seems. Many of the organizations will focus more on things like paying people to stand on corners to ask for petition signatures or plant a few trees at a local park.
8 Billion Trees is different though. They are going deep into the Amazon to plant trees where they can do the most good. 8 Billion Trees are not afraid to do the tough work.
Let me tell you the story about Molly the sloth and how she inspired the start of 8 Billion Trees.
Molly lived in the Amazon forest until just recently when the area of the forest she lived in was burned down by Palm Oil farmers illegally. Molly was found just outside the burned area badly hurt.
Seeing what happened to Molly and was happening to thousands of other animals daily inspired Michael & Jon to start 8 Billion Trees. They wanted to start an organization that would be able to help these animals and replant the trees they needed to live in.
Turns out planting trees can do some pretty amazing things.
If you’re anything like me, the entire climate situation leaves you feeling helpless. Massive pollution, carbon levels rising, animal habitats being destroyed all over the world–it’s all so depressing and easy to feel powerless to large corporations and governments causing many of the issues.
But the recent climate strikes energized me to start doing some serious research on ways I can improve and know that I’m doing everything within my power to become part of the solution.
I Wrote a Letter to My Congressman
The template I found gave me some good ideas on where to start. I edited it to make it more personal and included upcoming legislation to be sure my voice is heard.
First, I wrote a letter to my congressman and let him know that climate change is a critical issue and that I support legislation that will take responsibility for this climate crisis and aim to make a true positive difference. I made it clear that I will only support a candidate that cares about our planet. And I plan to send one letter each month. If all of us did this, it could create a tidal wave effect to really put pressure on our government officials.
I also did this for my city so that green initiatives can take high priority out of the projects my city council is working on. I believe that charging government officials at every level is absolutely a must–not just my congressman and local city, but my state representative as well.
They will all be getting monthly letters from me now.
I found a great free example letter online that I made some edits to, but helped me to make sure I was covering all of the most important parts.
I Learned More About My Carbon Emissions
Carbon emissions are a nasty reality of our modern world but making sure to offset my families impact makes me feel a lot better for not contributing to it.
First and foremost, I’m a mom. And while my husband is great at helping me do grocery and house shopping when he can, we have 2 daughters and often times he watches them while I do the shopping.
I started looking for only green certified products and ones from companies who are committed to erasing their carbon footprint. This also means you won’t find a single water bottle in our home. Nope!
While I work close enough to bike, my husband has to drive a car to work. But we made the decision together and now he carpools with others from the office.
On top of that we are finding ways to cut down our electricity usage. This means we have a rule in the house where if you leave the lights on when you leave the room, you have to put a dollar in the “guilty” jar on the kitchen table and at the end of the month we donate it to a local climate charity. We all mess up sometimes but this makes sure we hold each other accountable and this is the first month we haven’t had any money in the jar!
With all of that, I still know that I’m leaving a carbon footprint. From the food we eat, to the transportation we use, to the utilities we consume–it all causes a carbon footprint.
To make sure we are completely carbon neutral, we use a carbon footprint service that uses carbon “tokens” to offset our impact. We did a lot of research but decided on one with the best reviews that we are confident is making an impact.
Our Family Started Buying Locally and Eating Seasonally
Buying at a local farmers market has turned into a fun activity for me and my girls. Plus it helps the environment!
While our family is all vegetarian, we still make a point to buy as much produce as we can that is grown locally. Buying food from far away means it had to be shipped and that leads to lots of emissions–a lot more than I was aware of when I saw this article explaining that over 32% of all trade-related emissions come from fossil fuels used to transport goods like food. Yuck!
We have a small garden in the back yard (I used this video and got some help from my husband on building the wooden “box”).
But for things we can’t grow we use a local market and support farmers who use sustainable farming methods. It does cost a bit more but after we sat down at the dinner table one night and looked at our food bills it wasn’t that much more expensive and now we are leaving a smaller carbon footprint.
Along with that, we try to eat produce that is only in-season. Sometimes we do buy fruit in the winter that we wouldn’t be able to get locally, but for the most part we try to keep this to a minimum. It is a sacrifice, but a sacrifice our family is making to become more responsible!
We Started Planting Trees Through a Trusted Organization
8 Billion Trees is an amazing tree planting group that helps my family make a direct impact on the environment every month.
While our family loves to plan day hikes where we pick up trash (we make a game out of it with our two daughters) and plant trees in our neighborhood, we decided to look into other ways we could contribute positively to the environment in a more direct way.
I was surprised to find that planting trees is considered one of the most–if not the most–effective ways for combating climate change directly. They provide one of the most effective natural carbon sinks while also providing habitat to animals–especially in devastated areas like the Amazon and Borneo Rainforests where there are countless endangered species like orangutans and sloths.
My husband and I did our research and decided to use 8 Billion Trees because they are backed by 10 non-profits and plant in 18 countries around the world. By contributing to their organization we are able to plant and save way more trees than our family could ever hope to plant each month. And they also support a wildlife center to heal and rehabilitate animals hurt and misplaced from tree habitat loss.
Everything Adds Up
While the climate situation still scares me and fills me with worry almost every day, I do feel better knowing that our family is doing more to contribute in a positive way.
I’m going to keep researching and improving our commitment to saving the planet, but these changes have helped me to realize that we can all make a difference–and it isn’t a small one. Not at all. We should all feel proud knowing that we are making our impact.
Just imagine what we could accomplish if everyone did what they could.
We could truly give our planet a fighting chance and one that it desperately needs.
Carbon credits can reduce your footprint on the Earth completely, erasing your negative and unavoidable impact on the environment.
Below we review the best carbon credit services of 2019 based on many different factors to give you the best and most efficient options for erasing your carbon footprint.
Calculator to find your biggest negative carbon impact
Don’t offer carbon credits but teach you about climate change
Purchasing Carbon Credits
Many people are aware that they are having a negative impact on the environment, but don’t know what to do about it. Buying carbon credits allows you to offset your negative environmental impact to erase the effect you’re having on the environment.
While living a “green” lifestyle can help reduce your impact, having a negative carbon impact on the environment is unavoidable. Using carbon credits allows you to turn around your negative impact on the climate to become a positive force for the planet instead.
What to Look for in a Carbon Credits Service?
There are many different factors to look for in a carbon credits service, but a handful are the most important.
First, you should make sure that the carbon credits are based around trees. This is because planting and conserving trees are scientifically shown to be the best way to pull carbon from the atmosphere while also providing new habitats to endangered species as an added benefit. In the list above, only 2 met this criteria–8 Billion Trees and Terrapass.
Secondly, the carbon credits need to be available in an efficient form. While some services can allow you to remove your carbon footprint, they are expensive and not long-lasting. This is one of the big reasons using a carbon service that focuses on trees is important.
Third, the carbon credits service should be one that you feel comfortable with. While this differs for everyone, we based the “comfort factor” of our review on the companies that replied to us immediately over email and the phone and allowed us to refund or cancel for any reasons.
While there are many options to purchase carbon credits, this list should provide a good starting point and help turn your negative impact into a positive one!
We just got word of this organization 8 Billion Trees and they are doing something incredible to save the Amazon Rainforest and help Molly, an endangered sloth forced from her home.
They have been reviewed by Yahoo, Associated Press News, and even one of the biggest planting organizations in the world–Eden Reforestation.
And now we want to help get the word out about them because of their amazing work. More people really need to hear about them and support their mission.
They have included everything on their website, just read below and see what they are doing to help the planet.
WE ARE FACED WITH A CRISIS… THE EARTH AND THE ANIMALS THAT LIVE IN IT ARE UNDER ATTACK.
If we do not do something TODAY to stop it, more animals will continue to die from deforestation and cruelty caused by logging.
Our children and grandchildren will not get to enjoy Earth’s natural beauty and all of the animals that make our planet so beautiful and diverse will vanish forever.
Our planet is now faced with global pollution and climate change with worldwide deforestation like it’s never been seen before. It is causing thousands of animals each day to flee their homes, many of them forced into areas they can not survive…where they die.
Humans are cutting down over 15 billion trees every year that are not getting replanted, destroying the homes of these animals.
Those trees take up over 50 million acres. Bigger than all of Florida! Imagine that…all of the animals in Florida being killed in just a year. That’s literally that is happening all around the world.
Humans are clear cutting down enough forests to cover all of Florida EVERY YEAR!
These are trees animals desperately need to survive. These trees are literally their homes.
These are trees we desperately need for the climate as well.
Trees absorb over 200 tons of CO2 per second!
Animals really need these trees and so do we.
So where does that leave us?
If we sit back and do nothing, the answer is pretty obvious. Animals will continue to die by the millions each year, with many species going completely extinct–like the orangutans in the rainforests of Indonesia.
But 8 Billion Trees is fighting to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Our mission is simple:
Fight to stop deforestation and habitat destruction that is killing millions of animals each year and causing some of Earth’s most diverse species to go extinct.
By fighting this habitat loss, we also fight global warming through planting trees that absorb harmful carbon dioxide emissions and greenhouse gases.
We’re fighting to help the Earth do what it does best–grow and sustain animal life.
In order to do this, we save 100 trees and plant 10 new trees for every single member of 8 Billion Trees, every single month.
That means every 30 days, you can join the network of 8 Billion Trees and save your 100 trees and plant your 10 trees, but don’t worry–we do the hard work of planting and conserving them for you.
We just focus on what matters: saving and planting trees and helping you to do your part by allowing us to save and plant them on your behalf.
Together we can make the Earth of tomorrow a brighter, greener, more sustainable place for all of the animals that live in it!
*You’re in full control–cancel at any time, no questions asked. Thanks for helping to do your part!
I just got word of this amazing deal 8 Billion Trees is running. They’ve partnered up with hotels around the world to give away vacant rooms for free to any new members that sign up this year.
These are some of the locations you can get a free hotel stay for 3-7 nights:
Cancun, Puerto Penasco, Mazatlan, Nuevo Vallarta, Orlando, Las Vegas, Branson, Williamsburg, Gatlinburg, Acapulco, Koh Samui, Phuket, Myrtle Beach, Daytona Beach and Bali.
You still have to pay the local tax on the rooms but these rooms often go for $200+ a night and the taxes are only about $20. There is NO weird timeshare presentation or anything like that. These hotels just want to make otherwise empty rooms available to those joining a good cause.
Here are some comments about the vacations and 8 Billion Trees:
8 Billion Trees is a membership club that costs only $20/month to join. The main benefit of the 8 Billion Trees is that for each member they plant 10 trees every month! There are a ton of other small benefits but this is the big one.
What if I cancel right after signing up, do I still get the free vacation?
Yes! – Even if you cancel right after signing up 8 Billion Trees will still be happy to give you the vacation voucher. You can even get a full refund on the membership if you ask (but please don’t take advantage of them, they need the money to plant trees).
Right after signing up you will be directed to select your location and get the free resort voucher emailed to you.
8 Billion Trees managed to secure this partnership last year and is offering it to all current members as well as all new members that sign up in 2019.
If you care about trees or the environment please consider signing up for 8 Billion Trees. This is an amazing offer they’ve managed to put together and you don’t want to miss out!
We just got word of this amazing deal 8 Billion Trees is running. They’ve partnered up with hotels around the world to give away vacant rooms for free to any new members that sign up this year.
These are some of the locations you can get a free hotel stay for 3-7 nights:
Cancun, Puerto Penasco, Mazatlan, Nuevo Vallarta, Orlando, Las Vegas, Branson, Williamsburg, Gatlinburg, Acapulco, Koh Samui, Phuket, Myrtle Beach, Daytona Beach and Bali.
You still have to pay the local tax on the rooms but these rooms often go for $200+ a night and the taxes are only about $20. There is NO weird timeshare presentation or anything like that. These hotels just want to make otherwise empty rooms available to those joining a good cause.
8 Billion Trees is a membership club that costs only $20/month to join. The main benefit of the 8 Billion Trees is that for each member they plant 10 trees every month! There are a ton of other small benefits but this is the big one. You can cancel or ask for a refund at any time as well it’s no obligation (but please do not take advantage of them!)
8 Billion Trees managed to secure this partnership last year and is offering it to all current members as well as all new members that sign up in 2019.
If you care about trees or the environment please consider signing up for 8 Billion Trees. This is an amazing offer they’ve managed to put together and you don’t want to miss out!
We just got word of this amazing deal 8 Billion Trees is running. They’ve partnered up with hotels around the world to give away vacant rooms for free for anyone that spends $100 on their environmental products (which will pay to plant at least 50 trees).
These are some of the locations you can get a free hotel stay for 3-7 nights:
Cancun, Puerto Penasco, Mazatlan, Nuevo Vallarta, Orlando, Las Vegas, Branson, Williamsburg, Gatlinburg, Acapulco, Koh Samui, Phuket, Myrtle Beach, Daytona Beach, and Bali.
You still have to pay the local tax on the rooms but these rooms often go for $200+ a night and the taxes are only about $20/day. There is NO weird timeshare presentation or anything like that. These hotels just want to make otherwise empty rooms available to those supporting a good cause.
8 Billion Trees sells bracelets and other sustainable goods and uses the proceeds to plant at least 10 trees for every item sold. They do this by funding tree planting operations around the world.
In just 3 months since they started in November 2018, they have already funded projects in 18 countries! Such big accomplishments for some a new operation.
8 Billion Trees managed to secure this hotel partnership and is offering it to anyone that spends over $100 on the site. That will get you 5 items and more importantly fund the planting of 50+ trees!
If you care about trees or the environment please consider spending $100+ at 8billiontrees.com . This is an amazing offer they’ve managed to put together and you don’t want to miss out!
We just got word of this amazing deal 8 Billion Trees is running. They’ve partnered up with hotels around the world to give away vacant rooms for free to any new members that sign up this year.
These are some of the locations you can get a free hotel stay for 3-7 nights:
Koh Samui, Phuket, Tenerife and Bali.
You still have to pay the local tax on the rooms but these rooms often go for $200+ a night and the taxes are only about $20. There is NO weird timeshare presentation or anything like that. These hotels just want to make otherwise empty rooms available to those joining a good cause.
8 Billion Trees is a membership club that costs only $20/month to join. The main benefit of the 8 Billion Trees is that for each member they plant 10 trees every month! There are a ton of other small benefits but this is the big one. You can cancel or ask for a refund at any time as well it’s no obligation (but please do not take advantage of them!)
8 Billion Trees managed to secure this partnership last year and is offering it to all current members as well as all new members that sign up in 2019.
If you care about trees or the environment please consider signing up for 8 Billion Trees. This is an amazing offer they’ve managed to put together and you don’t want to miss out!
I just got word of this amazing deal 8 Billion Trees is running. They’ve partnered up with hotels around the world to give away vacant rooms for free to any new members that sign up this year.
These are some of the locations you can get a free hotel stay for 3-7 nights:
Cancun, Puerto Penasco, Mazatlan, Nuevo Vallarta, Orlando, Las Vegas, Branson, Williamsburg, Gatlinburg, Acapulco, Koh Samui, Phuket, Myrtle Beach, Daytona Beach and Bali.
You still have to pay the local tax on the rooms but these rooms often go for $200+ a night and the taxes are only about $20. There is NO weird timeshare presentation or anything like that. These hotels just want to make otherwise empty rooms available to those joining a good cause.
Here are some comments I found about the vacations and 8 Billion Trees:
8 Billion Trees is a membership club that costs only $20/month to join. The main benefit of the 8 Billion Trees is that for each member they plant 10 trees every month! There are a ton of other small benefits but this is the big one.
What if I cancel right after signing up, do I still get the free vacation?
Yes! – Even if you cancel right after signing up 8 Billion Trees will still be happy to give you the vacation voucher. You can even get a full refund on the membership if you ask (but please don’t take advantage of them, they need the money to plant trees).
Right after signing up you will be directed to select your location and get the free resort voucher emailed to you.
8 Billion Trees managed to secure this partnership last year and is offering it to all current members as well as all new members that sign up in 2019.
If you care about trees or the environment please consider signing up for 8 Billion Trees. This is an amazing offer they’ve managed to put together and you don’t want to miss out!
The world is faced with several environmental crises. Ocean acidification, widespread pollution, and climate change name just a few.
One extremely timely crisis, however, is that of deforestation. Each year, 18.7 million acres of forest cover are lost as irresponsible logging and agriculture demolish Earth’s pristine environment.
Two entrepreneurs set out to do something about it, and together they formed 8 Billion Trees. Mike and Jon formed a social enterprise to inspire other companies to follow suit.
As a social enterprise, they emphasize on social goals (a.k.a. planting trees to help save the environment) over profit. In other words, making a difference in the world is more important than short-term cash.
Unlike non-profits which often have extremely limited marketing budgets (and are therefore unable to spread awareness effectively), 8 Billion Trees is able to take company revenue and invest it right back into growing the company so that the ultimate goal is achieved: planting as many trees as humanly possible.
And all along the way, 8 Billion Trees helps to spread awareness and support for their partners which include many different charities and NGOs. On top of encouraging direct donations to these groups, 8 Billion Trees donates thousands each month in company contributions.
8 Billion Trees Review: The Good and the Meh
It’s clear that 8 Billion Tree’s mission to change the world by planting 8 billion trees is noble…and definitely audacious.
But what information is there on the company, and what kind of reviews are they getting?
First off, 8 Billion Trees is not a charity, which means contributions are not tax-deductible. Instead, it is a social enterprise with a strong focus on awareness campaigns which means their administrative costs are too high to be a charity. When we asked them about their decision to do this, they gave us a candid response:
“We deliberated for weeks on whether to form as a charity or a social enterprise that runs on profit. Ultimately, we decided that furthering our mission was the most important thing to us.
While we could make a positive impact with a charity, we would be unable to grow rapidly and it would take at least a decade or more to reach our goal of planting 8 billion trees. And frankly, there just isn’t that kind of time to spare.
Earth’s forests are being devastated and no one is stepping in to make a powerful difference that can actually reverse the damage being done so that global forest cover begins to grow each year in destroyed areas.”
On the positive side, 8 Billion Trees is partnered with many charities and non-governmental organizations. This gives them much-needed credentials that trees are actually being planted each month. You just can’t write it off on your taxes.
Another positive is their use of recycled materials for their product line. Using post-consumer and environmentally-conscious materials, they have crafted a line of accessories and apparel that customers can rest easy purchasing.
On the negative side, their collection is limited in size and would greatly be helped by the addition of more options.
Their commitment to livable wages for their employees, consistent monthly donations to many charities, and exceptional customer service are some of the things they do best.
As a new company they have a long way to go and can improve in many ways. But overall, they are making an impact with integrity and helping to change our Earth for a better tomorrow.
