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Loading...Is Your Relationship with Trees on the Rocks?
- The Nature Conservancy
- July 26, 2012
- 10:30 am
- 32 comments
By Sarene Marshall, The Nature Conservancy
Given my work for a global conservation organization and my residence in a neighborhood filled with massive oaks, maples and hickories, it shouldn’t be surprising that my family and I are fond of trees.
And while we should all welcome any shade we get during another summer of record-breaking heat, even the most conservation-minded amongst us might find our love for trees tested right about now. You may not even feel like hugging one. After all, severe storms, like the derecho that freight-trained through the DC area recently, brought branches and trunks down on power lines and property and left millions without electricity for days. Meanwhile, epic large-scale forest fires, like the recent devastating blaze in Colorado Springs, have burned through much of the western U.S., threatening homes and businesses in their wake.
No, this hasn’t been a good PR month for trees.
I heard that one neighborhood proposed the drastic measure of cutting all their trees down. With global temperatures soaring, in part because of carbon pollution caused by massive deforestation in the tropics, that seems a little like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Yet, after days of being trapped in a 100-degree house with no air conditioning and seeing the horrifying images of scorched earth and destroyed neighborhoods, I sympathize with the instinct to prevent future disasters by getting rid of a perceived cause.
But, when it comes to managing the roles that trees play in these disasters, there is a better way. The secret lies in observing forests over time in the wild.
Read more: Environment, Green, Home, Lawns & Gardens, Nature, derecho, fire, forest, forest health, megafire, Sarene Marshall, trees, wildfire
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
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Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
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32 comments
+ add your ownThere's such a variety of trees, all beautiful, some majestic, and who could imagine a world without them? They will still be here when the last humans have finally destroyed one another.
What better way to spend a hot afternoon than to read a good book, sitting on the ground with your back against the trunk of a tall tree with its branches shading you from the sun and a breeze whispering through its leaves. And if you nod off, what wonderful dreams you'll have.
Plant a tree. Plant a garden. PLANT!
I love the trees in my yard, even the sweet gum which, after stepping on a dry seed pod you sometimes think horrible thoughts about the trees worth. I have planted one that I will enjoy for years to come but now I will plant more. Maybe move the house up in the trees and we can all go together when its our time.
Trees are not only beautiful but they provide shade and are Earth's lungs. We need trees, that is why God gave them to us.
Had a good comment ready to send...hit the wrong key...poof!
I throughly enjoyed your article ..Nature Conservacy..Sarene M. I gave away 14, 2'-4' spruce trees that started from seed themselves from my nearby spruce trees. Hubby wants to cut them down, as is afraid if a bad storm they could hit the house. They are healthy, and I am not letting these go yet!??
Very good and interesting article. Here in Brazil we have a website for those who are fans of trees. Every new member subscribed a tree is planted. I invite everybody to join this group. The website is http://plantearvore.org.br
Plant more trees! We need more trees! Trees are the earths lungs, therefore they become ours too. Earth is battling to breath as there are so few trees! That's way we have so many respiratory diseases. Asthma is increasing in children. Sure pollution is a huge problem but trees will reduce that, plus they are very cooling, and their benefits go on......
thanks for sharing
I live in The Whitsundays on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Our house is within what was previously, a bird sanctuary but sadly no longer. However, we are in a beautiful valley surrounded by trees of all types and sizes and varieties and a variety of weeds, grasses and palms with a creek which runs through. We would never dream of cutting down a tree for any other reason than that it has become a danger due to cyclone damage or age. The birds are still here, along with a variety of other native animals, including snakes ... ugh! They, the animals, also need the trees and the vegetation. In Australia, we are not immune to bushfires and it was quite normal for councils and other agencies to carry out controlled burns but someone thought it was a good idea to discontinue the practice for many, many years. This stupid decision resulted in an increase in bushfires causing terrible tragedy. In the past few years, controlled burning has been resumed ... sensibly. Our Aboriginal people are the masters of controlled burning and it was always part of their survival and culture. They are the sensible ones. I reject the theory that having too many trees eventually is the cause of too much methane gas. Whatever methane gas that emanates from falling leaves etc is far outweighed by the fact that forests act as carbon sinks. So they actually drink in carbon and retain it. When wood is used for housing, the carbon remains within the wood and therefore does not escape back into the atmospher
I live in The Whitsundays on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Our house is within what was previously, a bird sanctuary but sadly no longer. However, we are in a beautiful valley surrounded by trees of all types and sizes and varieties and a variety of weeds, grasses and palms with a creek which runs through. We would never dream of cutting down a tree for any other reason than that it has become a danger due to cyclone damage or age. The birds are still here, along with a variety of other native animals, including snakes ... ugh! They, the animals, also need the trees and the vegetation. In Australia, we are not immune to bushfires and it was quite normal for councils and other agencies to carry out controlled burns but someone thought it was a good idea to discontinue the practice for many, many years. This stupid decision resulted in an increase in bushfires causing terrible tragedy. In the past few years, controlled burning has been resumed ... sensibly. Our Aboriginal people are the masters of controlled burning and it was always part of their survival and culture. They are the sensible ones. I reject the theory that having too many trees eventually is the cause of too much methane gas. Whatever methane gas that emanates from falling leaves etc is far outweighed by the fact that forests act as carbon sinks. So they actually drink in carbon and retain it. When wood is used for housing, the carbon remains within the wood and therefore does not escape back into
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