Amazon Users Can Tell Alexa to Grow a Tree, Donate $1 to Reforestation

Amazon customers based in the United States can now donate $1 to plant a tree. The donation is processed by Alexa on any device that has the AI feature installed.

"Alexa, Grow a Tree," Amazon's Earth Month Feature

According to an announcement by Amazon, the command for the donation is as simple as "Alexa, grow a tree."

Each customer that joined the donation drive can track the fund they gave to the company. The donation record, particularly the number of trees a person has planted, can be viewed via the Amazon Pay account. The drive starts this Earth Month.

According to the company, they will also donate a separate $1 million to the collaborating environmental charity, also known as 'One Tree Planted,' that will be handling the tree-planting activities.

Amazon's collected funds will initially circulate throughout environmental projects both in the United States and India, The Verge reports.

Pennsylvania will utilize the donations to help Center County's dilapidated mines and logging areas reforest. In California, the donations will be used for promotion efforts to spread awareness and techniques for effective vegetation planning and resource management.

In the Pacific Northwest, an improvement in the conservation of the planted trees in the region's water bodies will be carried out, as it cleanses food sources for fish species and orcas around the areas. Funds that will be relayed to India will fuel other projects targeting local economies, hunger, and climate change.

Although Amazon made tree-planting as easy as donating just a single dollar, many experts are still not convinced about the project. The $1 given to Amazon, according to the critics, will not guarantee a planted tree as opposed to what the company advertised. This is due to other campaigns included under the tree planting initiative that will receive parts of the raised donations.

Problems with Tree-Planting Initiatives, According to Studies

Projects like Amazon's promise new trees planted in parts of the country. However, these kinds of initiatives are somewhat dangerous if not carried out accordingly.

In a study, titled "Limited effects of tree planting on forest canopy cover and rural livelihoods in Northern India," it was shown that tree-planting projects conducted in the country of India failed on average, and much worse, resulting in bigger problems in some of their forests.

The research found that results from India's tree-planting drives changed the forest makeup and seemingly eliminated the plant species that the locals get their typical resources.

Another study, titled "The global tree restoration potential," warned that these tree-planting missions might distract a huge number of people from the real and urgent actions that are needed relative to the planet's current situation. The authors highlighted the decrease of pollution among the first steps.

Amazon currently holds a huge environmental footprint. It continued to grow throughout the history of its business, most notably in recent years. In a sustainability report, it was revealed that Amazon's greenhouse gas emissions reached 20 percent higher in 2020 compared to 2019.

Check out more news and information on Climate Change in Science Times.