p7, v14.35 — Around The San Gabriel Valley

Around The San Gabriel Valley

Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, August 29, 2020

MVNews this week: Page 7

Mountain Views-News Saturday, August 29, 2020

THE BEST WAY TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE? PLANT
TREES! by Susan McCreary – a tree nut

If you stand on a San Gabriel Foothill trail and take
a good look around, you might notice what looks
like a tree-filled LA basin. It even changes color
with the seasons. Purple Jacaranda dot the landscape
in early summer, and sweet gum and sycamore
add yellows and reds to the fall tapestry.

The Arbor Day Foundation started a program in
the 1970s to enhance our urban environment with
trees. Cities could apply for a TREE CITY USA
designation, which meant they have achieved Tree
City USA status by meeting four core standards of
sound urban forestry management: maintaining
a tree board or department, having a community
tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on
urban forestry and celebrating Arbor Day. The cities
of Monrovia and Sierra Madre have in the past
achieved TREE CITY USA designation, but upon
doing a quick search of the Arbor Day Foundation
website, I see that both cities have dropped off the
list, whereas Arcadia, San Marino, Temple City,
Azusa, Pasadena, South Pasadena and Los Angeles
are active TREE CITIES.

We know that trees provide cooling shade, beauty,
habitat, and increase property value, but trees also are a huge carbon sink. Trees breathe in CO2 and other gases
and breathe out oxygen. Broad leaf species such as oaks and sycamores have a large surface area and lots of leaves
which generate more photosynthesis and gas exchange. Conifers such as pines, have less surface area but absorb
more heat. This is important because the average American citizen is responsible for generating roughly 20
metric tons of CO2 annually. According to an MIT study, the somewhat disquieting bottom line is that in the
United States, even the people with the lowest usage of energy are still producing, on average, more than double
the global per-capita average. In the EU the average is 8.4 metric tons per person. According to NC State University,
one tree can absorb 31-48 pounds of CO2, that means there needs to be 1,025 trees per person to offset
the average carbon footprint. I calculated that my round -trip flight to Wilmington, North Carolina last winter
generated 1.4 metric tons of CO2. Prior to 2006, the United States was the biggest CO2 producer at 5.3 billion
(with a B) metric tons. Since then China has taken the top spot at 9.8 billion metric tons in 2017. India, with its
plentiful coal and rapid industrialization is soon to take over the number 2 spot.

As we have been hearing, the Amazon Rain Forest, which once covered 2 million square miles, is more than 20%
gone, with 20,000 square miles being burned every year. At this rate, in 50 years the Amazon will be gone, leaving
a barren savannah. When far right politician Bolsanaro was elected in 2018 he promised to exploit the Amazon
rainforest to benefit the Brazilian economy. The rate of deforestation jumped by 30% in the year following. Indigenous
tribes were violently displaced. Cattle ranching and soybean production for feed have moved in. 80%
of the world’s beef supply is now from Brazil. This is another good argument for eliminating beef from your diet.

For the conscientious consumer with means, there are carbon offset programs to reduce one’s impact. A Swiss
program gives the buyer a choice to support Kenyan women by providing more fuel efficient stoves, or help Nicaraguan
subsistence farmers plant more trees. I support any kind of personal carbon offset program as long as
the US consumer is doing other things, most importantly consuming less, as well as driving less, driving electric,
installing solar panels, turning off the A/C for a few hours during peak times, and planting trees!

Being a good steward of the trees around you is just as important. A mature tree cannot be replaced in your
lifetime, so help it stay alive. We have been experiencing blistering triple digit temperatures here in the southland.
Many trees in our area are not native and have difficulty coping with the stress of this kind of heat. A low
slow deep watering is much more beneficial than a light daily sprinkle. Soaker hoses are a good option. Talk to
a certified arborist about your trees and get to know what they like. A young tree needs more frequent watering,
and a mature live oak will become sick with potentially lethal oak root fungus if its feet are wet in the summer
during its dormancy. It takes about an hour for water to move 4 feet up a tree, so water before the heat strikes
to improve the tree’s ability to cope with heat stress. Learn to look for signs of overwatering and underwatering.
Age, size, soil composition, location, climate and species all play a part in how much water a tree requires. Speak
to your city parks department if you notice a city tree in distress. The city has a financial incentive to address the
problem. Keeping a tree alive is much less expensive than removing a dead tree.

RIP- Two of my neighbors chose to cut down magnificent trees because turkey vultures were roosting in them
and making a mess underneath. A huge Morton Bay Fig and an elegant 70-foot-tall lemon eucalyptus both were
felled before their time. Landscape lighting will often deter birds from roosting in trees and adds to the enjoyment
of the tree. This is a much less costly strategy, too. Five years ago, in Sierra Madre, four giant blue gum
eucalyptus trees stood about a half mile from each other in a perfect square. I called them the four pillars of the
old Rancho Sierra Madre. Now only one remains, on Orange Grove just east of Lima. The stump of one remains
on Highland. It is at least 5 feet in diameter. I feel a sense of guilt for not at least pointing out to the owners the
historical significance of these pillars. Who knows? Maybe they would still be standing.

Next time you are on a walk, try to identify the trees you see. There are apps for this! And if there is a tree in obvious
distress, don’t hesitate to “speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues!” (from The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss).
And finally, an old Buddhist saying – “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second-best time is
today” (although I would argue that in Southern California, October is better).