First flowers of the New Year

Lee Poulsen wpoulsen@pacbell.net
Fri, 05 Jan 2007 11:29:08 PST
Well, the Arbor Day Foundation has jumped the gun on the USDA and  
recently issued an updated Hardiness Zone Map of their own. Several  
articles have shown up in the last week or so describing it and making  
reference to possible global warming.

http://courierpress.com/news/2007/…
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/… 
AR2007010300418.html

Below is the Foundation's press release on it, and here  
<http://www.arborday.org/media/zones.cfm> is where you can go download  
a copy of their new map and also a map showing which areas have changed  
and by how much.

--Lee Poulsen
Pasadena, California, USDA Zone 10a
=============================

New arborday.org Hardiness Zone Map reflects warmer climate

Latest hardiness zones, based on most current temperature data  
available, suggest up-to-date choices for best trees to plant

Nebraska City, Neb. – Much of the United States has been warmer in  
recent years, and that affects which trees are right for planting.

Based on the latest comprehensive weather station data, The National  
Arbor Day Foundation has just released a new 2006 arborday.org  
Hardiness Zone Map which separates the country into ten different  
temperature zones to help people select the right trees to plant where  
they live.

The new map reflects that many areas have become warmer since 1990 when  
the last USDA hardiness zone map was published. Significant portions of  
many states have shifted at least one full hardiness zone. Much of  
Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, for example, have shifted from Zone 5 to a  
warmer Zone 6. Some areas around the country have even warmed two full  
zones.

In response to requests for up-to-date information, the Arbor Day  
Foundation developed the new zones based on the most recent 15 years'  
data available from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric  
Administration's 5,000 National Climatic Data Center cooperative  
stations across the United States. Hardiness zones are based on average  
annual low temperatures using 10 degree increments. For example, the  
average low temperature in zone 3 is -40 to -30 degrees Fahrenheit,  
while the average low temperature in zone 10 is +30 to +40 degrees  
Fahrenheit.

The new 2006 arborday.org Hardiness Zone Map is consistent with the  
consensus of climate scientists that global warming is underway. Tree  
planting is among the positive actions that people can take to reverse  
the trend. Tree planters across the nation can go to arborday.org,  
click on the Hardiness Zone link, and enter their zip code to determine  
their hardiness zone.

"The Arbor Day Foundation supports tree planting throughout America,"  
says Foundation President John Rosenow. "Providing the hardiness zone  
for individual zip codes at arborday.org is an important part of that  
goal, by giving tree planters the most up-to-date and useable data  
available."

"Of course existing trees should continue to be cared for," said Woody  
Nelson from the Arbor Day Foundation. "Certain species may be more  
vulnerable to stress with the current warmer climate, but they will  
continue to provide environmental and economic benefits as they grow.  
It's just a good idea to consider more tree species diversity for the  
future."

Planting trees helps counteract global warming.

Trees counteract global warming in multiple ways. Atmospheric carbon  
dioxide is the leading contributor to global warming, and as trees grow  
they remove CO2 from the atmosphere, storing the carbon and releasing  
oxygen. A single tree can remove more than a ton of CO2 over its  
lifetime. Also, shade provided by trees reduces summer air conditioning  
needs. According to the USDA, the cooling effect of a healthy tree is  
equal to 10 room-size air-conditioners operating 20 hours a day. Trees  
reduce the "heat-island" effect in urban areas, where summer  
temperatures are generally warmer than the surrounding countryside.  
According to the U.S. Forest Service, 50 million strategically placed  
shade trees could eliminate the need for seven 100-megawatt power  
plants. Additionally, trees around homes and in cities slow cold winter  
winds, reducing the need for winter heating. This relief on fuel  
consumption for heating and cooling helps reduce CO2 emissions from  
burning fossil fuels.

Detailed information about which trees are best for planting throughout  
the country, the value of trees, and the latest warmer hardiness zones  
can be found at http://www.arborday.org/.

The National Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit organization of nearly  
one million members, with a mission to inspire people to plant,  
nurture, and celebrate trees.

###

Note to Editors: You can download the new Hardiness Zone Map at  
arborday.org. There is also a map that shows which regions have warmed  
and an animated graphic that shows hardiness zone changes since 1990.


On Jan 5, 2007, at 10:31 AM, piaba wrote:

> tomorrow it's supposed to get to 73 F (23 C) in NYC.
> in january!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
> did anyone say global warming????
>
> =========
> tsuh yang
>


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