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I wish the tree had not been felled. A very sad and poignant act. Also, as I pointed out in another conversation here, and in the name of reciprocal repetition

I wish the tree had not been felled. A very sad and poignant act. Also, as I pointed out in another conversation here, and in the name of reciprocal repetition will do so again here, it is quite easy to find reports of equally heartbroken locals, the world over, lamenting the deliberate felling of any number of special, beloved, prominent trees, in the name of the routine building of a new road or factory or housing development in humanitys continual march of progress. With one single tree evoking this much emotion, it is little wonder that in general we struggle to view mass environmental destruction as anything other than an abstract, distant notion. How could we mentally handle it, otherwise??

pdpi 3y ago
At least felling trees to build things serves a purpose. Are those things worth the cost? Debatable, but at least there’s some attempt at justification. This one is particularly heartbreaking because you can’t even apply that cynical utilitarian logic to it. It seems like a completely wanton act of vandalism.
- indigochill 3y ago
  > At least felling trees to build things serves a purpose. Are those things worth the cost? I spent a little time in Finland a while back and although I didn't look deeply into it, my impression was they had a healthy relationship with trees. The country is heavily forested and they harvest many trees but they also replant diligently. One of the guys I spent a little time with there was also researching plant-based alternatives to plastics (in the vein of the infamous paper straws, plant-based wrappers instead of plastic wrappers, that kind of thing). Deforestation is absolutely a problem in some areas of the world, but tree farming can be done responsibly. They're an endlessly renewable resource if we only give them the space and time to grow.
  - gnz11 3y ago
    I may be wrong but I believe the major problem with tree farming is that you lose biodiversity since what gets replanted is usually a single species.
- TRiG_Ireland 3y ago
  Here's another act of vandalism, narrated by John Green. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESyJop31cmY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESyJop31cmY He manages to find some meaning in it, as is his wont.
noobermin 3y ago
Simple, the developers, planners, or other stakeholders do NOT care about the trees in your neighborhood they only care about theirs. Try cutting down your mayor's favorite tree in his yard. See how he feels about that.

pdpi 3y ago

At least felling trees to build things serves a purpose. Are those things worth the cost? Debatable, but at least there’s some attempt at justification. This one is particularly heartbreaking because you can’t even apply that cynical utilitarian logic to it. It seems like a completely wanton act of vandalism.

indigochill 3y ago
> At least felling trees to build things serves a purpose. Are those things worth the cost? I spent a little time in Finland a while back and although I didn't look deeply into it, my impression was they had a healthy relationship with trees. The country is heavily forested and they harvest many trees but they also replant diligently. One of the guys I spent a little time with there was also researching plant-based alternatives to plastics (in the vein of the infamous paper straws, plant-based wrappers instead of plastic wrappers, that kind of thing). Deforestation is absolutely a problem in some areas of the world, but tree farming can be done responsibly. They're an endlessly renewable resource if we only give them the space and time to grow.
- gnz11 3y ago
  I may be wrong but I believe the major problem with tree farming is that you lose biodiversity since what gets replanted is usually a single species.
TRiG_Ireland 3y ago
Here's another act of vandalism, narrated by John Green. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESyJop31cmY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESyJop31cmY He manages to find some meaning in it, as is his wont.

noobermin 3y ago

Simple, the developers, planners, or other stakeholders do NOT care about the trees in your neighborhood they only care about theirs. Try cutting down your mayor's favorite tree in his yard. See how he feels about that.