Planeta Verde Reforestación S.A.[edit | edit source]
There aren't enough opportunities available for most people to get personally involved in managing today's incredible amount of pollution. Planeta Verde Reforestación S.A. (Green Planet Reforestation Ltd.) is a company that makes it possible for those concerned with the health of our planet to have access to making a difference. Planeta Verde offers change that you can go see, smell, and touch if such things suit your fancy. Planeta Verde has a vast amount of private land in Vichada, Colombia, upon which it can plant tropical trees. The amount of tropical trees planted is completely up to the environmentally-conscious individual interested in either making a profit, carbon neutralizing their vehicle, or both. The projects offered by Planeta Verde that can be accessed by this individual are only feasible because of the land owned in Colombia, the cost of which to own is not included in any of the projects. This means that Planeta Verde is offering its land, free through its projects, to those who would like to have a hand in clearing our atmosphere of harmful pollutants, as well as create a home for the various local animals that are encountering the threat of endangerment.
Planeta Verde has recently obtained a Memorandum of Understanding with the renowned Omacha foundation. This gives both parties the opportunity to carry out research and habitat conservation efforts on the land in Colombia.
Projects[edit | edit source]
- Carbon Neutralize Your Vehicle
An average North American car can emit up to 12,100 lbs of carbon dioxide (CO2) every year. To help offset this disturbing quantity, Planeta Verde raises trees in a tropical climate. Almost one-fifth of our fossil fuel emissions are absorbed by forests across Africa, Amazonia and Asia.[1] "Tropical forest trees are absorbing about 18% of the carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere each year from burning fossil fuels" says climate expert, Simon Lewis, at the University of Leeds. Therefore, Planeta Verde's tree-planting is having a greater positive impact than those planting trees in more temperate climates. To get involved in reducing (or completely neutralizing) the greenhouse gas emissions of your vehicle, all one must do is purchase a windshield decal or bumper sticker. The purchase of this goes towards tropical hardwood tree seedlings, which will be planted at Planeta Verde's tree nursery in Vichada, Colombia.
As stated on the website, http://www.co2tropicaltrees.com, making your vehicle carbon neutral for 10 years will only cost you $750, or $85 a year, an annual cost that is less than the cost of a single fill-up at the gas pumps.
- Raise Trees
For those in the environmental movement, incentive conservation is steadily gaining popularity as it involves a win/win situation where the health of the planet is concerned. Clean air, less global warming, and the possibility of gaining a profit are all outcomes of this reforestation project. If one is interested in making a green investment, reforestation would be one of the most sensible. Although the time for the investment to give a return may dissuade some from the idea, the benefits are definitely worth the wait. At the nursery in Colombia, Planeta Verde plants tropical hardwood trees that have a growth rate of only 10 years. Due to the tropical climate, the trees will grow year-round, and the area has a rainy season of 8 months. An example of the investment:
| 10 trees = 100 American Dollars |
| 10 years = 340 American Dollars' return |
And this is an example of but a small investment made. Try imagining the return on 100 trees.
When you buy trees from Planeta Verde, not only are they being grown from seedlings to harvest, but they are being raised. This means that Planeta Verde is not just planting seeds in the ground with wild abandon, but they have created a strategy that best suits the needs of each type of tree they are planting. When you buy the trees, Planeta Verde chooses which ones to plant. This could mean one of the many types of hardwoods or types of fruit trees that will benefit local animal population. The trees are grown in a grid, so as to help with the species' competition as well as control the undergrowth which will greatly lower chance of fires.
Branching Out[edit | edit source]
Destructive logging is one of the main sources of rainforest degradation today. The conversion to agricultural means is also taking a toll on the tropical rainforests today, and the efforts to replant are little to none. Planeta Verde offers the chance to meet the demand, not only for tropical reforestation, but for low-cost housing as well. The company has decided to join the housing efforts in Costa Rica. Vivienda Housing and Mortgage Corp. is a company dedicated to providing shelter for the ever-increasing population in Costa Rica that is unable to afford suitable living conditions. The housing projects have been inaugurated by the country's president himself--Oscar Arias Sanchez. The president of Vivienda and founder of Planeta Verde Reforestación S.A., Dexter Dombro, is a Canadian that has gone so far as to move to Costa Rica in an effort to maintain surety that the projects have gone as swiftly as possible.
In 2009 alone, Planeta Verde has planted over 129,500 trees on its plantation and the numbers are still rising. On average, Vivienda constructs over 1000 low-cost homes per year.
