One more reason to hug trees: "The World Conservation Union (IUCN) compared the death toll from two villages in Sri Lanka that were hit by the devastating giant waves. Two people died in the settlement with dense mangrove and scrub forest, while up to 6,000 people died in the village without similar vegetation." It has been shown that mangroves can absorb between 70 and 90% of the energy of normal waves, and though there is no data on exactly how much they can absorb from a tsunami, it seems that it is quite significant. We must - as a civilization - realize quickly that nature is the best way to protect us from nature's violent outbursts; whether it is the mangroves and coral reefs in Asia, the wetlands of New Orleans or the forests of Central-America (see what happened in the tree-less Gonaïves in Haiti during hurricane Jeanne versus what happened in Dominican Republic, which still has trees). As global warming creates more climate disruptions, we will need all the protection we can get. ::Tsunami: Mangroves 'saved lives'

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Kelly Rossiter

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