By Phyllis Chavez Santa Monica
This is my second plea to stop the “Tree-o-cide” on Second and Fourth streets.
Global warming is threatening our environment on a daily basis. We have already experienced some of it’s disastrous effects. For this reason alone, we should not destroy the much-needed, beautiful, and yes, life-giving tree canopy on Second and Fourth streets.
Our trees are keeping Second and Fourth streets from the urban heat-island effect. Urban areas, like Second and Fourth streets, without trees become “heat islands” with significantly higher (as much as 10 degrees) temperatures.
They also allow the businesses on these streets to conserve much-needed energy. In the summer, their shade provides reduced air conditioning needs, and in winter, provides a wind-break so that less fuel for heating is required.
During our summer months, our trees also shade and cool the parked cars, reducing emissions from heated fuel tanks and engines.
These trees have a life expectancy of about 90 more years. This means, as they grow, they will be removing carbon dioxide from the air and safely storing the carbon in wood and soil and giving us back life-giving oxygen to breathe.
I heard that the project cannot be changed in any way without losing the funding. I cannot believe that, in this time of global warming, saving trees would stop the funding and end the project.... any project! If this is the case, there is something terribly wrong.
What good are all the improvements and beautification of any area if it contributes to critical climate change? If it is too hot and polluted to enjoy, what is the point?
We should be planting new shade trees on every project and preserving and caring for those we have.
Please save the trees on Second and Fourth streets!
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 28, 2007. Read the original PDF.