Climate Champions

FAQs

WHY REPLANT AND REGROW FORESTS?

Scientists tell us the two fastest ways to reduce the worst effects of climate change are to stop using fossil fuels right away and to regrow forests, right away. It’s not possible for us all to stop using fossil fuels right away, but it is possible for all of us to replant and regrow forests, now.

I GET CUTTING OUT FOSSIL FUEL USE, BUT WHY ARE TREES IMPORTANT?

Trees breathe in carbon dioxide to live and grow. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the major greenhouse gas causing climate change on Earth When trees breathe in CO2, they also breathe out oxygen (O2)—what animals, what we, breathe to live.

Trees also filter pollutants out of the air which improves the air wherever trees are. Trees also cool the air. The more trees there are in a local area, the cooler that area becomes. Cooler air, cleaner air and more 02 means healthier air! Healthier air actually helps combat climate change.

Trees are cost effective long-term investments — green infrastructure — which add real value in dollars and cents to a community. In fact, the larger the tree, the greater the benefits – trees are the only type of infrastructure whose value INCREASES with time and age. In fact, when assessing the costs and benefits, we always come out ahead when we plant the right trees in the right place.

Check out this link to the 22 Benefits of Trees just to get an inkling of a notion of an idea of how important forests are to life on planet Earth.

OKAY BUT WHY FORESTS? WHY CAN’T WE JUST PLANT SOME TREES LOCALLY?

If a little bit is good, a whole lot more is better. Forests sequester more carbon, regulate more of the climate, sustain biodiversity. Climate change is already here. So in order to offset the worst effects of it, we need to move fast and grow trees. The fastest way to make an impact is to scale up and regrow forests. That’s why The Climate is also a member of the Trillion Trees Project.

Did I mention replanting and regrowing forests creates good green jobs?

SOUNDS GOOD, BUT WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?

As soon as all the donations from each Climate Champion team come in, and the campaign ends, we immediately send it to the tree planting partner in the designated area. They then schedule the ten thousand tree planting and execute the planting during planting season. We stay in touch with our partners constantly to track what they’re doing with each Climate Champion team’s funds.

WILL OUR 10K TREES (A 20-ACRE FOREST) GET PLANTED IMMEDIATELY?

It depends. Trees are planted during the tree-planting season. That season depends upon what part of the world they’re in. IOW, if your Climate Champion team wrapped up its campaign just before the start of the tree planting season of your designated area to be reforested, then yes, tree planting would begin immediately. If the campaign ends right at the end of the tree planting season in your designated reforestation area, then your team will have to wait until that tree planting season begins again.

OK, THEN HOW WILL WE KNOW THE TREES GET PLANTED?

Good question. Each tree-planting partner has tracking systems which they share with The Climate, and we then share with you, through email updates, our reforestation app, or any other means which may be developed in the future.

WHAT KIND OF TREES ARE BEING REPLANTED TO REFOREST THESE AREAS?

Native species.

HOW DO I KNOW THE FOREST I’M HELPING PLANT AND REGROW ISN’T GOING TO BE CUT DOWN IN THE FUTURE?

Fantastic question. Our agreements with our tree-planting partners mandate that all reforestation projects they undertake on behalf of The Climate and its Climate Champions must be on existing forest property OR on land reclaimed for the express purpose of growing forests and agroforests.

I HEARD ABOUT SOMETHING CALLED “BLUE CARBON”. WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?

“Blue carbon” is the carbon that is stored naturally by marine and coastal ecosystems, hence the name. Three types of coastal ecosystems — mangrove forests, seagrass forests and tidal marshes 

I WANT TO REFOREST BLUE CARBON, TOO. IS THE CLIMATE GOING TO LET CLIMATE CHAMPIONS DO THAT, TOO?

Absolutely. In fact, The Climate is negotiating with two blue carbon reforestation organizations. Once we finalize our relationship, Climate Champions will also be able to reforest blue carbon.

WHAT ABOUT CORAL REEFS. THEY LIVE IN THE OCEAN, TOO. AREN’T THEY CONSIDERED BLUE CARBON?

Coral reefs are incredibly efficient systems and largely have a net zero carbon impact on their environment — any CO2 released during calcification is typically sequestered by processes performed by the other organisms on the reef. Due to this, coral reefs are not yet considered carbon sinks. And yes, The Climate is researching reputable partners with which to regenerate coral reefs.

ARE DONATIONS AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CLIMATE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE?

Yes. The Climate is registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) charitable corporation. Your donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

WHEN WILL I GET MY RECEIPT FOR MY TAXES?

Our goal is to send each Climate Champion team member their receipt for tax deductions as soon as each team is filled and campaign closes.

IS MY INFORMATION SECURE AT THE CLIMATE?

All sensitive information (such as your credit card information) provided to The Climate is transmitted using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption. SSL is a proven coding system that lets your browser automatically encrypt, or scramble, data before you send it to us. We also protect account information by placing it on a secure portion of our web site that is only accessible by certain qualified employees of The Climate.

We maintain technical, physical, and administrative security measures designed to provide reasonable protection for your Personal Information against loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, and alteration. The security measures include firewalls, data encryption, physical access controls to our data centers, and information access authorization controls. While we are dedicated to securing our systems and Services, you are responsible for securing and maintaining the privacy of your password(s) and Account/profile registration information and verifying that the Personal Information we maintain about you is accurate and current. We are not responsible for protecting any Personal Information that we share with a third-party based on an account connection that you have authorized.

Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can ever be 100% secure. While we strive to fully protect your information, we cannot ensure or completely guarantee the security of such information.

Your Credit Card Information

When you enter your credit card information into a form field, your credit card information is encrypted and transmitted securely to The Climate. Neither The Climate nor its payment processing partners store your credit card information on a permanent basis; your credit card information is only used for the duration of the transaction and is then deleted from our records.

We take the utmost precaution to keep your credit card information safe and secure. But if you are uncomfortable submitting your credit card information online, you can also contribute to The Climate by printing out the online form and mailing it to:

The Climate, Inc.
5614 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 337
Washington, DC 20015
USA