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Supposedly, Ronald Reagan blamed trees as a major cause of pollution. He was ridiculed for this claim. Where did he get that idea?
I think carbon dioxide is what he meant. In general, trees take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. Trees and other plants are this planet's main source of oxygen. Without this oxygen, animal life (including human life) would be impossible. Some trees (evergreens) sometimes give off carbon dioxide, in the coldest of weather. Apparently, these trees are generating a little heat. Besides oxygen, carbon dioxide is about all a tree can give off in any great quantity.
Carbon dioxide is bad news, right? Breathing too much of it will kill you. It is a greenhouse gas, and may be causing global warming (which Reagan was very concerned about). Well, you and I would die without some carbon dioxide. Apparently, our bodies need some carbon dioxide, in order to control our breathing. And of course, plants need carbon dioxide to survive. And we need plants to survive.
So, do trees cause pollution? Yeah, and some of them litter every autumn.