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IPFS News Link • Communities

Amazing! 800,000 People Gather to Plant 50 Million Trees in Just 24 Hours

• thefreethoughtproject.com

Students, officials, volunteers, and many others — more than 800,00 people, according to the Associated Press — gathered along highways, roads, forested land, and rail lines in a grand effort to break the previous Guinness Book of World Records single-day tree-planting of 847,275 set by Pakistan in 2013.

"I've read in a book that this tree releases maximum oxygen," the AP quoted eighth-grader Shashwat Rai discussing his choice to plant a Ficus religiosa, known as a "peepal," in Lucknow's Kukrail Reserve Forest. "There is so much pollution in the cities, we need trees that produce oxygen."

Rai's desire to counter excessive pollution was echoed by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, the top elected official in Uttar Pradesh, who hoped the effort would increase awareness for environmental conservation and 'afforestation.' As he told volunteers:

"The world has realized that serious efforts are needed to reduce carbon emissions to mitigate the effects of global climate change. Uttar Pradesh has made a beginning in this regard."


 


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