by Michael dEstries January 14, 2012
Ever wonder where all the woody green in the U.S. is? It took six years – but Josef Kellndorfer and Wayne Walker of NASA’s Woods Hole Research Center, in conjunction with the National Geological Survey and US Forest Service, managed to do it.
They poured over space-based radar, satellite sensors, computer models, and a massive amount of ground-based data – all resulting in what may be the best “highest resolution and most detailed view of forest structure and carbon storage ever assembled for any country.”
Awesome. Unless you live in the central U.S. states. No green for you.
So, how many trees are we looking at here? According to one source, scientists estimate that America’s forest land contain some 230 billion trees – around 1,000 for each person. And it’s getting better. There are more trees today than there were 70 years ago. Some 1.5-2.3 billion – an area the size of Connecticut – are planted annually. Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Oregon and Washington are the leading tree-planting states, in that order.
Now you know. For a high-res shot of this map, jump here
About Michael dEstries
Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2012/01/14/behold-a-new-map-of-all-the-trees-in-america/
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