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# Better things to do
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/better-things-to-do-editor/
- Published: 2008-03-18T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T18:54:09.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Ben Fritz Santa Monica Watch the company you keep Editor:*

I feel great living in a city where people care about their environment and nature. I want to commend the intentions of the “treesavers” as highly noble. It is a good thing when people make a stand for nature. However, I feel they are missing the real opportunity. The federal government wants to come into California’s largest forest, clear for roads, and drill for oil. This is untouched nature that we should fight to keep untouched. It deserves more attention than the trees in Santa Monica.

Santa Monica is not a natural setting we are danger of losing — it is a city. The trees in question were planted for aesthetic reasons and now they are being removed mostly for aesthetic reasons. They are not going to be cut down for lumber, but transplanted to another location where they will continue to live. On top of that, new trees will be planted in their place. We are not losing a forest or a natural habitat for animals.

Sustainability is a popular word these days. We are learning we need to be more efficient with our resources. The fight the “treesavers” are putting up is draining our city’s resources. Every time they stage a protest and the police need to be there, all the time the city officials have to spend on the subject instead of moving on with business, and of course any court time amounts in more money needed to be spent by the city. It is a drain on our resources because a few want to fight a “noble” fight. My recommendation to the “treesavers” is to use this good intention you have for a good cause. I know it may take a little more effort for you to go out to the forests that are in danger. I realize it is convenient to pick a fight outside your front door. But your efforts really seemed misplaced and the fight is coming off as arrogant.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 18, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/031808.pdf?ref=smdp.com)