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Environmental Concerns

We Need Those Trees!

by Victoria Bergesen, Climate Control
March 15, 2021
comment 2 Comments

                                               WE NEED THOSE TREES!  WE ARE WATCHING! 

Carbon sequestration presents the easiest, and arguably, the cheapest weapon in our struggle to stabilize global heating. Trees naturally capture carbon and store it long term in their trunks and roots. Our global heating has reached a crisis sooner than expected partly because so many of our forests have been willfully destroyed. The climate change has also caused droughts and wildfires that have destroyed millions of acres of forests.

Our first task is to conserve the existing trees. We need to plant trees, millions of trees, but these will need to grow for at least a decade to make a significant difference. The amount of carbon sequestered is proportionate to the size of the trunk and roots. The new trees will not help in the next decade which scientists say is the crucial period for climate action.

You can support conservation organizations and you can elect officials who support conservation. You can be most effective in your own community. Your local tree commission or forester determines who can cut down which trees. The guidelines will vary enormously between municipalities and counties. This is a sphere in which you and a few friends or a small organization (garden club, church group, PTA, scout troop etc.) can wield significant influence.

What regulations determine who can cut down a tree? Who makes those rules? A tree should only be cut down if it is diseased, imminently threatening a structure or is an invasive exotic. Developers should be required to protect areas of forest significantly greater than any they destroy. Just showing an interest in the regulations will alert local government. They may have been using the same regulations for decades without a thought. First let them know that you care, and you are watching.

Victoria Bergesen, Climate Control

 

 

 


2 Comments

Chula Vista Garden Club, Michigan

by Bunny LaDuke on Tue, 04/06/2021 - 10:21

Beautiful healthy trees in our local community are being cut down by the local energy company if they have branches within 40 feet of an electrical wire. How to fight this?

Blog Administrator

by Gerianne on Mon, 04/12/2021 - 10:38

Thanks for your comment. Perhaps your local garden club can work with your utility company to find alternative trees. You might want to check out this website in your state of Michigan for more information on the importance of pruning. https://www.consumersenergy.com/company/trees-and-power-lines Many areas of the country have lists of “utility-friendly” trees to plant in replacement of trees that often require severe pruning to keep the utility line safe. Here is a list from your neighboring state of Wisconsin. https://www.mge.com/our-environment/trees-and-landscaping/planting-and-landscaping

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