Photosynthesis is the process through which trees and other plant life feed themselves.

Put simply, the trees, often via

their leaves, absorb light emitted by the sun via chlorophyll, located in their chloroplasts. So in

addition to giving leaves their green hues, chlorophyll is what allows the tree to capture sun-derived

photons and tuck them away within their cells

for later utilization. That energy is then used to split water molecules collected by the

tree's roots and other surfaces into hydrogen and oxygen. That hydrogen is combined with

carbon dioxide in the air, which is there because animals exhale it, which

it absorbs through its leaves. And that combination creates sugar, which the tree consumes

to survive. It creates their bark, leaves, woody fibers, and so on. That extra leftover oxygen

molecule, though only really just a byproduct of this self-serving process that the trees perform,

to keep themselves growing and spreading and repairing damage inflicted upon them by the weather and by animals,

is vital for our atmospheric balance.

It keeps our oxygen levels equalized, which is important for we animals

who need oxygen if we want to survive. There's a beautiful rhythm in this, the idea that as we

exhale, the plants around us inhale, and vice versa. But it's just one of many interconnected

systems found in nature, where creatures

evolve, to take advantage of what other creatures are doing, in a multifaceted back and forth

and back again competition, that over time at least, keeps things in an ever-evolving balance.

Look in any direction at any resource produced or consumed by any portion of our global

ecosystem, and you will find connections of this kind. There are numerous efforts existing and

planned, currently, or intending to, blanket tree-free areas, with carbon sink trees that can

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