Trees produce 1.07 pounds of oxygen and use 1.47 pounds of carbon dioxide for every pound of wood they grow. An acre of trees can grow approximately 4,000 pounds of wood a year, using 5,880 pounds of carbon dioxide and giving off 4,280 pounds of oxygen in the process (South and Buckner 2003). Forests benefit our population in two ways. The first is by producing wood. People use an average of 15,824 board feet of lumber and up to 10,893 square feet of panels in each house that is built. Over 600 pounds of paper per a person are produced a year for books, diapers, packaging, and all the other paper products. Trees are also a benefit due to the oxygen they produce. One person needs 365 pounds of oxygen per year, and that oxygen is manufactured through plants and trees (South and Buckner 2003). America is slowly becoming a paperless society as electronic copies become the more cost and time-efficient way to do business. Before the industrialization of our nation, tree harvesting was minimal. However, now that our nation is industrialized, the harvesting of trees is one of the best ways to counteract the production of air pollution. As trees age, they consume less carbon dioxide, so growing new trees allows more carbon dioxide to be taken up and oxygen to be released making our air more breathable. The harvesting of trees is important because it gives new trees room to grow and keeps carbon dioxide stored in old wood. As forests age and become more overcrowded, little growth occurs; however, trees begin to use oxygen instead of releasing oxygen; and more wood may decay than grow. For every pound of wood that decays (or combusts), 1.07 pounds of oxygen are used, and 1.47 pounds of carbon dioxide are released (South and Buckner 2003). As a result of this