Energy Savings
During the summertime when temperatures are warm, large trees create shade. As we all know, temperatures are cooler in the shade. Cooler temperatures cause air conditioners to have to work less, which reduces the amount of energy a household utilizes. During the winter when temperatures are cold, winter winds cool your home and rob it of heat. Trees act as windbreaks and reduce winds by up to 30%, causing heating systems to use less natural gas, saving energy and money.
The City of Terre Haute’s trees provide $124,568 in energy savings each year. This comes in the form of reducing electricity demand by 1,309.4 Megawatt-Hours annually and reducing natural gas usage by 36,514.9 Therms annually!
Aesthetic/Other
Up to 15% of the value of a property can be attributed to its trees and other landscaping. Tree lined streets are much more appealing to homebuyers than streets devoid of trees, resulting in increased home sales, and therefore increased tax revenue.
The City of Terre Haute’s trees increase its property values by $463,919 each year!
Storm water effects
We often take our water systems in our municipalities for granted. The cost of delivering fresh water to homes, as well as removing and treating wastewater and storm water is immense. One of the greatest costs comes when either these systems are overwhelmed, such as during flooding, which can cause millions of dollars of damage to homes and vehicles, or when these systems need to be replaced from years of handling large volumes of water.
Fortunately, trees take water from the soil and put it back into the atmosphere, so the more trees, the less flooding we see, and the less strain is put on our storm water infrastructure, resulting in fewer repairs and replacements. In addition, tree canopy slows down rainfall’s effects on flooding by “intercepting” it with leaves and branches, delaying how quickly rainfall can become runoff and floodwater. All this adds up to savings for a community.
The City of Terre Haute’s trees provide $413,816 in stormwater savings each year. This comes in the form or reducing stormwater by over 66.7 million gallons annually!
Air Quality
Many industrial processes and vehicle emissions put harmful chemicals into our air. These chemicals can cause or worsen poor health conditions such as heart disease, asthma, and lung disease. In addition, these airborne pollutants can mix with water in the atmosphere and create nitric and sulfuric acid, causing acid rain, which can destroy fisheries and contaminate water supplies. Trees absorb these compounds with their leaves and other tissues, and prevent them from remaining ambient in the atmosphere. Reductions in these chemicals results in overall better health, reducing the cost of healthcare to society, and saving communities money.
The City of Terre Haute’s trees provide $43,288 in air quality savings each year. This comes in the form of removing nearly 35,000 pounds of various pollutants annually!
Carbon Dioxide
The amount of CO2 which is put into the atmosphere each year has a direct correlation with global climate change. That change causes more severe storms, greater drought conditions, loss of species, and many other costly outcomes. In short, reducing CO2 from our atmosphere lessens these effects. Since trees uptake CO2 and act as a sink, putting carbon into long term storage in its woody tissues, they remove it from our atmosphere, creating a net benefit to society, and saving money.
The City of Terre Haute’s trees provide $18,579 in Carbon Dioxide savings each year. The comes in the form of removing over 5.6 million pounds of carbon from the atmosphere annually!
To learn more about the ways that trees benefit Terre Haute, check out the Urban Forest Management Plan!