Putting down trees in urban areas is still usual in the 21st Century. See some alleged reasons for cutting trees (by those who did it):
“I put down a tree because…
- It did interfere with a hanging electric wiring
- It made the sidewalks dirty with branches, seeds and fruits
- Birds harmed the paint of cars parked under it
- The vision of a building, an architectural work, was hidden
- Many of them together were a hiding place for thieves
- It was big, it could fall over houses, cars, or people
- It was a hassle to prune it, and I had no time to do it
- It would decrease the value of a for-sale real estate
- It occupied too much space in the sidewalk
- It was not a native tree
- It was old
- I didn’t like trees
As we talk about cutting and killing trees in the cities, it is time to break paradigms (stop believing in explanations given in the past, about a reality that no longer exists and start trusting new explanations, more consistent with today’s real world).
Remarkable fact nowadays are the climate changes. Scientific authorities state that 2016 will be the hottest year in the world’s recent history. And the amount of carbon thrown everyday in the atmosphere is still high and at non satisfactory levels worldwide.
Trees offer a local solution for both problems: they provide thermal stability, remove carbon from the atmosphere and give it back the precious oxygen.
Trees are therefore necessary, especially in urban areas ! To break paradigms, then, is to accept that the human race NEEDS trees to survive. It means also the proposal of new solutions, both feasible and rational, to problems that trees might create.
In the forthcoming weeks, we will analyze each reason given by those who have been removing trees in urban areas and point out possible solutions to each case.
Natura Futura 