Politics trumps science yet again: Ottawa silences fisheries scientist

 

Where they could once talk freely, federal scientists and researchers are now carefully managed by media and communications staff in Ottawa

 

Posted 27 July 2011, by Kealy Doyle, David Suzuki Foundation, davidsuzuki.org

Another sad day for science. Senior political staff in Ottawa have prevented a fisheries scientist from speaking out about her research.

Dr. Kristi Miller’s work as the head of a $6-million salmon genetics project may shed important light on the decline of Fraser River sockeye salmon. Her study suggests a virus might be responsible for killing off salmon in large numbers before they reach their spawning grounds. It created a huge buzz when it was published in the respected scientific journal Science earlier this year.

But we’re unable to hear more from Dr. Miller herself, after officials with the Privy Council Office in Ottawa decided she couldn’t speak to the media. The email trails obtained by Postmedia show that scientists within the Department of Fisheries and Oceans were chomping at the bit to provide interviews and briefings, but Privy Council Office staff nixed this on the grounds that it would unduly “influence” the Cohen Commission, the ongoing federal inquiry into sockeye salmon decline. This is an unusual position given that the inquiry’s purpose is to unveil all relevant information on the decline of salmon.

Or perhaps not that unusual. An article published today in the Vancouver Sun points out that this is just the latest example of how the current federal government has “tightened the leash on federal scientists, whose work is financed by taxpayers and is often of significant public interest—be it about fish stocks, air pollution or food safety.” Where they could once talk freely, federal scientists and researchers are now carefully managed by media and communications staff in Ottawa (as we can see from the trail of emails described in the article). And only a couple of months ago, Dr. Suzuki spoke out about the worrying political war on the science of climate change.

If we’re to tackle the great challenges ahead, we need to know our leaders are committed to an open, transparent dialogue about causes and solutions. The David Suzuki Foundation is working to make sure the Cohen Commission makes recommendations to increase the transparency of science and decision-making in government. A democratic society can’t function properly without good information presented in a credible and understandable way, especially when that information is produced by scientists in the public service. We need all the cards—and players—at the table.

Read about DSF’s involvement with the Cohen Commission.

 

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/healthy-oceans-blog/2011/07/politics-trumps-science-yet-again-ottawa-silences-fisheries-scientist/

 

Is Technology Neutral? Stewart Brand vs Winona LaDuke

Environmental Debate Excerpts:

Stewart Brand vs Winona LaDuke

 

Is Technology Neutral? Stewart Brand vs Winona LaDuke

Posted 25 July 2011, by Earth Island Journal TV, YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/user/EarthIslandJournal

Brand explains why he thinks “technology is neutral and the people promoting it are neutral.” Says over-interpreting people’s intentions blinds us to evidence that doesn’t match our agenda. LaDuke counters that what Brand’s promoting is amnesia. She doesn’t agree that everybody comes with “a clear moral history.”

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cco7NpJakIk

The GMO debate: Stewart Brand vs Winona LaDuke

Posted 25 July 2011, by Earth Island Journal TV, YouTube, youtube.com/user/EarthIslandJournal

Environmental thought leaders Stewart Brand and Winona LaDuke debate GM crop. Brand says “a combination of genetic engineering and organic farming really is the future of food.” LaDuke says it’s far more complex. “The reality is that hunger issues have to do with colonisation, lack of access to land, the theft of seeds… and …consumption issues.”

Peter Coyote responds to Brand and LaDuke

Posted 25 July 2011, by Earth Island Journal TV, YouTube, youtube.com/user/EarthIslandJournal

Peter Coyote challenges Stewart Brand’s hypothesis that “we are like gods”, positing instead that human beings are “idiot savants”

Protesters from DeChristopher sentencing released from jail

(Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) With their wrists zip-tied together, protesters hold hands as they block Main Street and 400 South following the sentencing of Tim DeChristopher at the federal courthouse in Salt Lake City on Tuesday.

All 26 of the protesters arrested after blocking a downtown street and TRAX rail line following Tim DeChristopher’s sentencing to federal prison have been released.

Salt Lake County Jail Lt. Mike DeNiro said Wednesday that the last of those arrested near 400 S. Main Street late Tuesday afternoon was released by 11 p.m. Of the 26 originally arrested for refusing to disperse, seven later chose to be issued citations instead of being jailed.

Through the course of Tuesday evening, the remaining 19 were booked into jail on charges of failure to comply with a peace officer, obstructing vehicular traffic and obstructing the public transit operation.

DeNiro said given jail crowding issues and misdemeanor nature of the charges, all 19 were given pre-trial releases.

Salt Lake City police arrested the protesters on suspicion of unlawful assembly, failure to disperse and obstructing a roadway. Those offenses are misdemeanors or infractions, but Scott Fisher, first assistant prosecutor for Salt Lake City, said his office still needs to decide if those are the charges that will be filed.

Fisher said the prosecutor’s office can make its own decision on what, if any, crimes a defendant can be charged with.

“You just have to review each case and see what the facts are,” said Fisher, who added he has not yet received the police reports.

Fisher said the protesters who took citations will likely have to begin appearing in court Aug. 9. The protesters who went to jail will be issued court dates after charges are filed.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson told DeChristopher that it was his comments, in addition to his 2008 disruption of a federal oil and gas lease auction, that combined to put him in prison for the next two years.

Benson referred to DeChristopher’s continued defiance and frequent assertions to reporters that civil disobedience is justified in fighting climate change. He mentioned DeChristopher’s speech after his March conviction, in which the activist encouraged others to follow his example.

Many did just that. Just after the judge left for his chambers, one DeChristopher supporter shouted, “This court is broken. … Is this a corporate court or our court?”

“Our court!” responded a small crowd of supporters.

Outside, police made more than two dozen arrests as protesters sat in front of a TRAX train and brought Main Street traffic to a halt during the afternoon commute.

DeChristopher, 29, made $1.8 million in bogus bids for 15 eastern Utah oil leases. Ultimately, BLM officials had to suspend the auction.

He remained in Davis County Jail in Farmington on Wednesday, where he was booked Tuesday on a no-bail U.S. marshals hold.

 

(Ed Note: Please visit the original site for a photo gallery associated with this article)

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52271087-78/dechristopher-jail-court-tuesday.html.csp

A Rosa Parks Moment: Climate Activist Tim DeChristopher Sentenced to Prison

 

Posted 27 July 2011, by Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, rollingstone.com

Environmental activist Tim DeChristopher at the Frank E. Moss Federal Courthouse in Salt Lake City, Utah. AP Photo/Jim Urquhart

Once in a while, the moral insanity of the world we live in reveals itself to anyone who cares to look. One such moment came yesterday afternoon, when 27-year-old Tim DeChristopher was sentenced to two years in prison for disrupting a federal auction of oil and gas leases in 2008.  The U.S. Attorney’s office went after DeChristopher because they wanted to make an example out of him, to show other activists what happens when you mess with the system.  But if federal prosecutors thought DeChristopher was a weak-kneed tree-hugger who would beg for forgiveness, they were wrong.  DeChristopher is not just a principled climate activist, he is also a deeply thoughtful human being.  And instead of underscoring the importance of the rule of law, the sentencing of DeChristopher reveals just how perverse and fossil fuel friendly our legal system really is.  For climate activists, this is a Rosa Parks moment.  Or should be.

DeChristopher himself played it cool.  In an interview a few weeks ago, he told me, “I’ve been preparing for this moment for a long time.”  It showed.  Just before the sentencing, while about 100 protestors gathered outside the court house in Salt Lake City singing “The Times They Are A-Changing” (26 were arrested), DeChristopher stood before the judge and read aloud a long and powerful statement to explain his actions to the court.  “Disrespect for the rule of law begins when the government believes itself and its corporate sponsors to be above the law,” he said.  He went on to describe the hypocrisy of a legal system that locks away students for peaceful acts of civil disobedience while allowing coal barons like Don Blankenship, the former head of Massey Energy, which has been cited for more than 62,000 violations in the last ten years and was responsible for the deaths of 29 miners last year, to roam free and live like kings.  “When a corrupted government is no longer willing to uphold the rule of law, I advocate that citizens step up to the responsibility.”

In the end, DeChristopher addressed the judge directly: “I’m not saying any of this to ask you for mercy, but to ask you to join me.  If you side with [prosecuting attorney] Mr Huber and believe that your role is to discourage citizens from holding their government accountable, then you should follow his recommendations and lock me away.  I certainly don’t want that.  I have no desire to go to prison, and any assertion that I want to be even a temporary martyr is false.  I want you to join me in standing up for the right and responsibility of citizens to challenge their government.  I want you to join me in valuing this country’s rich history of nonviolent civil disobedience.  If you share those values but think my tactics are mistaken, you have the power to redirect them.  You can sentence me to a wide range of community service efforts that would point my commitment to a healthy and just world down a different path.  You can have me work with troubled teens, as I spent most of my career doing.  You can have me help disadvantaged communities or even just pull weeds for the [Bureau of Land Management].  You can steer that commitment if you agree with it, but you can’t kill it.  This is not going away.   At this point of unimaginable threats on the horizon, this is what hope looks like.  In these times of a morally bankrupt government that has sold out its principles, this is what patriotism looks like.  With countless lives on the line, this is what love looks like, and it will only grow.”

Related: America’s Most Creative Climate Criminal: Tim DeChristopher by Jeff Goodell

 

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/a-rosa-parks-moment-climate-activist-tim-dechristopher-sentenced-to-prison-20110727

Midwest Rising: Convergence 2011

Posted June-July 2011, by Wei-Yin, Midwest Rising: Convergence 2011, convergence2011.org

Ed Note: This “Only Ed” posting is composed of the Convergence July archives, the About page and the FAQ page. The home page link to Midwest Rising: Convergence 2011 is here. Please visit the original site for timely updates.

About

Background

Back in April, 1000 people took over the Department of the Interior during Powershift to protest Earth-devastating energy extraction while 8 people committed acts of civil disobedience at the Wells Fargo Shareholders Meeting in San Francisco to protest banks gone wild.  In May, over 800 people in New York faced policemen, police dogs, and mace as they sent a message to the JP Morgan Chase Shareholders. In June, 1000 people marched over 5 days to Blair Mountain in West Virginia to demand an end to mountain top removal and the coal industry’s assault on the Appalachians and their mountains. People around the country are coming together to fight foreclosures and evictions, dirty energy projects, and corporate agendas that put profit before people and the planet.

In August, we need your help to build a movement against corporate power. St. Louis, Missouri, headquarters of Monsanto and Peabody and Arch Coal.  We will be hosting an Anti-Corporate Convergence to build this movement. The event will bring together a unique combination of community based organizations, low-income community members, environmental justice organizations, and climate activists.  We will combine hard-hitting direct action with an opportunity to take a step back and do some collaborative training and visioning of a world we want to live in. This convergence could change the organizing equation in the Midwest.

The Convergence

During the heat of summer, 300 environmental justice and climate activists and 300 grassroots low income community members are converging in St. Louis for four action-packed days that could change the organizing equation in the Midwest.  Climate justice and social justice activists are coming together to fight back against corporate power, engage in creative direct action, and envision a more sustainable world.

Objectives: It is important to realize that this convergence occupies a space that many people on the left identify the need for, but are unsure of how to approach. We identify our key objectives, why they are important, and how we seek to actualize them:

1.       Creating a space that brings together different forces on the left:    Economic justice and environmental movements have been separated from each other historically although both movements have common enemies.  Because environmental movements have traditionally been disproportionately represented by white activists with class privilege, they have often failed to draw significant attention to the obvious connection between wide-scale exploitation of and disregard for natural resources and the exploitation and oppression of people.  In order to begin to address privilege and oppression within our movements we will prioritize the voices and experiences of people of color and low-income people.

2. Developing a shared analysis of the moment and vision: Corporate interests and the right-wing agenda are on the attack and to imagine a movement powerful enough to reckon with these forces we must move beyond single-issue campaigns that are too easily framed as “special interests” and find a common ground that allows us isolate and call out corporate interests and develop a shared vision for a different world.  Understanding the intersectionalities of our struggles allows us to build a more unified movement.  We will both draw upon the knowledge of movement leaders and create together collective visions.

3.       Grassroots organizing and base building training: Grassroots organizing and outreach are necessary for growing our movement and getting to the scale.  We will engage in grassroots organizing trainings on 1-1s and door-knocking.  In order to ground these trainings in work that is real, we will direct participants to plan out the 1-1s that will carry their group’s work forward and partner with a local community group to door-knock in targeted communities with a message that moves that group’s work forward.

4.       Increased urgency and engagement in direct action: Direct action raises the level of urgency publicly and sows the seeds for the level of resistance it is going to take to see a movement take root, while directly challenging powers that be.  We will conduct intensive trainings in direct action and root these in the actions we take together.  MORE has organized direct action in St. Louis that targets big banks for more than a year, creating the public outrage that has led locally to dozens of individual homes being saved, increased willingness of banks to work with service agencies, and the drafting of local policy that would force hold banks to higher standard. Actions will advance this campaign and lay groundwork for local participation in national days of resistance planned for fall.  Climate Action, a local group, and national groups like Rising Tide have been targeting coal companies for their role in climate change. Locally direct actions have focused on Peabody Coal. Headquartered in St. Louis, it is the world’s largest coal company. Locally we have been successful in pushing for $10 million in tax breaks to Peabody to be taken back, and see the possibility for actions that would further our local work and national campaigns against coal.

Why St. Louis?

St. Louis is centrally located and has a sponsoring committee made up of a wide range of community, labor and environmental activists.  St. Louis is also the headquarters of Peabody Coal, Arch Coal, and Monsanto. St. Louis has hosted a wide array of anti-bank actions as well, including six people being arrested at Bank of America in December, and is home to Wells Fargo Advisors, the non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo that employs 20,000 people nationally.

Program and Training

We plan to offer a common curriculum rather than a hodgepodge of workshops.  The curriculum will examine our shared struggle against corporate power and do some visioning of a world in which we want to live (i.e. underlying theory).  We will also have organizing skills trainings, opportunities to caucus, and time for strategizing in which cities can plan follow-up steps.  There will also be creative forms of fieldwork and direct action.

Solidarity Request

Everyone is invited to participate! We are also requesting that organizations sign-on as official sponsors. There is a strong host committee locally and lots of groups are getting involved nationally.  There are national planning calls.  We need and want people who can help be trainers, are willing to do outreach, do art, media, logistics, direct action and a range of other needs. Local groups that can link their work to an anti-corporate or anti-oppression agenda are especially encouraged to get involved in the planning committee to help ensure that the convergence can further our struggles.  When you register, let us know what you can help with or email info@convergence2011.org to help.

Registration

Register on-line HERE.  For questions or further information call Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE) at 314-862-2249.

FAQ

FAQs about the Convergence

• When is the Midwest Rising Convergence? August 12th~15th!

• What is the 2011 Midwest Rising Convergence? The Convergence is a unique event that combines training with action. Together, we will learn about the insidious nature of corporate power and envision a world in which we want to live. There will also be pragmatic grassroots organizing skills training. Finally, we will engage in collaborative direct actions that target major banks and St. Louis-based coal company headquarters, ensuring our voices to be heard.

• Who should attend? Everyone who cares about fighting corporate power should attend. Whether you are concerned about the rapaciousness of coal companies or banks crashing our economy, the Convergence is for you. For many of us environmental activists, working class laborers, and social justice activists who do not always work together; this is our chance to come together and fight corporate power.

• What will the schedule be? We will post a tentative schedule soon. However, we will start in the morning of Friday, August 12th and end on Monday afternoon the 15th. Friday will involve a plenary session and training combined with some direct action. The weekend will combine training and workshops with a chance to get out into St. Louis’ neighborhoods. Monday will involve considerable direct action in downtown St. Louis.

• What is included? We will reserve hotel rooms and will have camping facilities available.  We are not certain if we will raise enough money to pay for meals so we encourage people to bring money for meals and/or food.  We provide materials and transportation to actions.

• Is there a cost for attending? We are asking people to pay what they can, according to their ability to pay.  We will help you make a fundraising plan for attending and meals when you are here.

• How can I get involved beyond attending? We need your help now.  We need help with the arts, logistics, turnout and training and fundraising committees.  As you sign up, let us know what you can do.  We will find housing for people coming in early to do work!  If there is something not on the registration form, email us at info@convergence2011.org

• May I run a Workshop? Yes! please contact us at info@convergence2011.org

Other questions? Drop us a line info@convergence2011.org

Event Fliers

DOWNLOAD PRINT-READY FLIER FILES:

8.5 x 11″ LETTER sized – [ download PDF ]

11 x 17″ TABLOID sized – [download PDF ]

Workshop Listing

This is our current list of workshops and brief descriptions for each one of them. Please let us know what you think! Also, if you would like to help out, please email info@convergence2011.org

Racism & Oppression: Racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression and discrimination are ways that keep people from being able to have equal opportunities.  We will talk about ways to better understand how oppression works, ways in which oppression affects our communities, ways in places and institutions reinforce oppression.  We will talk about what privilege is and challenge ourselves to apply what we learn to our daily lives and interactions.

Coming Together for a Common Struggle:  Can we fix the economy without addressing racism and the environment?  We will talk about how many problems and forms oppression – whether it be about jobs, social security, the environment, racism, or access to quality education – are related to each other.  We will discuss intersectionality.  We will talk about the importance of coming together across different communities, movements, and struggles as a necessity to further our individual and collective liberation.

Money, Economics, and Corporate Power: Why are there no jobs?  Why do so many people never get out of debt?  Is it true that they can do away with social security?  Have you ever wondered why the system is set up the way it is?  We will talk about the big picture: our economic system, capitalism, wage exploitation, and neoliberalism.  We will talk about the bail out, the economic recession, how corporations are using this crisis to become more powerful and how these changes are affecting our communities.   We will also talk about changes we would like to see for our communities, our schools, our jobs, government, and economy.

Environmental Justice: Do you want to learn more about what corporations are doing to the environment?  What does Green energy mean? We will talk about how corporations are affecting our communities through pollution and unsafe environmental practices that are making our children sick, disproportionately affecting low-income communities of color, and threatening our future and earth.  We will talk about how corporations are warming up the planet and changing the climate, threatening our food supply and independent farmers, and other ways their short-sighted policies are affecting us.

Civil Disobedience & Creative Direct Action:  Learn about the history of non-violent civil disobedience in this country and abroad. What are the pros and cons of organizing actions today?  What is strategic and meaningful today?  Learn tactics of creative action that bring public attention to issues when letter writing, meetings, and voting just doesn’t cut it.  We need more people trained in direct action so that we can build a non-violent movement of people that can demand change and confront people in power that are responsible for problems we are fighting against.

Spread the Word!  Organizing Our Communities:  Learn about how to spread the word to more people in your community about the movement we are building together.  How can you reach out to people?  How can we motivate more people to get involved?  We will discuss basic organizing skills that will help you be more effective at getting more people involved.  We can’t make the changes we would like to see alone. We need to reach out to more people.  We will then go out together to door-knock house to house to advance the work of the Organization for Black Struggle.

Meeting Facilitation and Group Decisions: Do you want to learn about how to facilitate a democratic meeting? Do you believe that everyone should have an equal voice?  Learn about consensus building meeting facilitation techniques that you can use to come to decisions that include everyone’s voices.  These skills help make sure that one person doesn’t dominate your meetings, that the group makes decisions that everyone feels good about, and that everyone feels included and listened too.

Convergence Schedule

Note: The discussion sessions and small-group breakouts will be included within the workshops. The trainings are intended to be participatory rather than a series of  lectures. Sorry for any confusions!

[Download pdf]

Sponsors 07/26 Update

Below are the current list of organizations that have officially sponsored our event:

Missourians Organizing Reform and Empowerment

Rising Tide

Climate Action STL

St. Louis Instead of War Coalition

NAACP

Organization for Black Struggle

 Little Village Environmental Justice Organization

Coal Country

Mountain Justice/ United Mountain Defense

Greening Detroit

SEIU

North County Neighbors

The Rainforest Action Network: Chicago Chapter

Pick up America

Would your organization like to help us, too? Please call 314-862-2249 or contact us!

Housing Options

There are three options for housing for those of you coming in from out of town:

1. Camping: The campsite will be offered at 1610 S. Florrisant, St. Louis MO. It is about a mile from the JC Penney Center. A couple of rules and notices–

• There is no extra charge for camping, but please bring your own tents and toiletries

• We will be carpooling regularly between the site and the center

• Convergence staff will be stationed to assist you with your needs

• No alcohol is allowed at the campsite

• All buildings around the campsite are off limits at this time

2. Dormrooms at UMSL: There are available summer housings offered by the University around South Campus. For those who are interested, please contact Allyson Wilson at (314) 516-4399 or email her at  wilsonall@umsl.edu

3. Local homestay, please note that the availability of homestay is VOLUNTEER BASED. You must find your own housing if you choose this option.

As always, please keep checking back regularly for more updates on the Convergence!

Thanks,

Wei-Yin

http://convergence2011.org/2011/07/

Tuna Farm Damaged By Animal Liberation Front

Posted 25 July 2011, by Staff, Atuna, atuna.com

Source: Times of Malta

A group calling itself the Animal Liberation Front has claimed responsibility for “liberating” Atlantic bluefin tuna by cutting the nets of “fattening pens” in St Paul’s Bay on Tuesday night.

“This species is on the brink of extinction and, therefore, we saw no other option to take action and free this highly endangered species,” the group said in the brief e-mail signed by “Jean Bobo”.

It is not known whether the international Animal Liberation Front, which, according to its website, campaigns to end the “institutionalized exploitation of animals”, was involved in this action. Questions sent to the international ALF and to “Jean Bobo” (by return e-mail) remained unanswered at the time of writing.

The owners of the net, Azzopardi Fisheries, said no tuna escaped despite the large hole close to the surface of the 50-metre diameter pen.

“Tuna tend to stay in the middle of the net as a group,” director Charles Azzopardi explained, adding, however, that the damaged net would cost €95,000 to replace.

He said this was an “unacceptable” attack on his property, considering he had all the permits and authorisation to breed tuna, something that, he stressed, was done under strict regulation.

“We cannot have a situation where people resort to violence because they do not agree with something. If they have a problem, they can meet us and we will discuss it. If they are right, we will stop our actions,” Mr Azzopardi said. “But if they are wrong, they should stop.”

He said a diver’s “knife kit” was found tangled in the net, indicating that the diver who damaged the net got stuck and endangered his life.

Mr. Azzopardi denied that the fish were on the brink of extinction, saying that anyone who was passionate about fishing knew the seas were full of fish at the moment.

The police did not reply to questions about the incident by the time of writing but it is understood that an investigation is underway.

Contacted for a reaction, a spokesman for the Minister of Resources and Rural Affairs George Pullicino said the ministry would wait for the outcome of the police investigation before commenting. “It must be pointed out, however, that, as always, the government unreservedly condemns any form of illegal action.”

Meanwhile, the Federation of Maltese Aquaculture Producers condemned “without reservation” the attack and called on the authorities to take all measures to bring the perpetrators to justice and prevent repeat acts of vandalism.

“Private individuals have no right to take the law into their hands to intervene or hinder commercial operations, especially when these are conducted according to law.”

The federation added that the vandalism was misguided and could have ended tragically. It said tuna fishing in the Mediterranean was carried out in a highly regulated manner, with an annual quota set “according to science” with the most stringent controls worldwide, making it sustainable. Growing concern about the precarious situation of bluefin tuna in particular led the European Commission to push, unsuccessfully, for tighter controls and reducing catches.

Meanwhile, activists from Sea Shepherd, which organizes similar direct actions at sea, yesterday issued an emergency call to its supporters to save their ship, the Steve Irwin, which has been detained by a Scottish court due to a pending lawsuit by a Maltese company. The company, Fish and Fish Limited, sued the conservation organization after its divers in June last year damaged its tuna nets and freed a large number of tuna.

The Sea Shepherd claims to have evidence to show the fish were caught illegally. But Captain Paul Watson warned supporters that the boat would be held indefinitely and possibly sold unless they raised $1.5 million to post a bond.

The Steve Irwin was about to depart on an anti-whaling campaign when it was detained.

http://pna.atuna.com/ViewArticle.asp?ID=9857

First They Came For the Trees and I Said Nothing Because I Was Not a Tree

Posted 15 July 2011, by John Scalzi, Whatever, whatever.scalzi.com

I looked out the window this morning and saw this funny yellow vehicle out by my trees. And I said, huh, I wonder what that funny yellow vehicle is doing out by the trees. And then fifteen minutes later –

ZOMG the yellow vehicle ate all the trees. It was horrible! I tried to imagine what offense the trees had given to merit such a punishment — producing oxygen without a license? Flagrant exhibition of chlorophyll? — but I came up with none. And then I remembered my wife had called these guys to come take out the pines because they were largely dead and/or dying and at this point were mostly just upright kindling. Therefore, this wasn’t murder, just a decent burial.

Or so I tell myself, so in my mind I don’t have to hear the awful screaming of the pines.

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2011/07/15/first-they-came-for-the-trees-and-i-said-nothing-because-i-was-not-a-tree/

Probe into trees mysteriously dying

 

 

Posted 04 July 2011, by Alicia Kelly, Worcester News (Gannett), worcesternews.co.uk

 

THREE protected trees are mysteriously dying.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the decline in the two large limes and one smaller sycamore in the garden of a home in Brittania Square.

Worcester city council’s tree protection officer Jeff Poole said he would be looking for possible diseases that may have caused the demise of the trees, which are in the Brittania Square conservation area.

We previously reported how there were concerns a 182-year-old brick wall would collapse onto passers-by because of pressure from the trees but the trees are protected by a preservation order.

The wall runs along Hebb Street, behind Brittania Square. A spokeswoman for the city council said officers had received a call from a member of the public concerned about the condition of the trees.

She said: “Our tree preservation officer visited the site and looked at the trees from outside the property.

“All three were suffering from severe dieback and branch death in various areas of the crown.

“He considered the pattern and extent of dieback and branch death was unusual.

“He and an enforcement officer visited the owner on Monday last week and they have agreed a date for a detailed inspection of the trees.

“They are investigating what has caused the dieback.”

A Hebb Street resident, who asked not to be named, said: “They are beautiful trees.

“I think trees like that make a difference to people living in the street and passing the street.

“Now there will just be a boring wall there like everywhere else.

“For us to have something like that again will take another 50 years.”

 

http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/9120720.Probe_into_trees_mysteriously_dying/

Toronto trees dying of thirst

 

 

Posted 21 July 2011, by Jill Colton, The Weather Network, the weathernetwork.com

 

July 21, 2011 — With the recent stretch of excruciating high temperatures coupled with a lack of rainfall, Toronto is experiencing drought conditions. This is having a disastrous affect on newly planted trees.

Brown, shriveled leaves and patches of dead grass are lining the roads throughout Toronto. According to City of Toronto officials, newly planted trees are struggling under the overwhelmingly hot weather.

In fact, many of them are dying and even larger more mature trees are suffering.

The city has been stifling to say the least over the past few days. Temperatures spiked to a record breaking 37.9 degrees Thursday, making it the hottest July day ever recorded at Pearson Airport.

To make matters worse, only 4.4 mm of rain has fallen across the region so far this month. The average for July is 74.4 mm. This has left the ground tinder-dry — a big problem for tree growth.

Lack of water can seriously hamper a tree’s immune system. This can leave it vulnerable to diseases and various insect pests, ultimately resulting in death.

Trees need water too! Don’t forget to give them a good soak.

In order to stop the greenery from expiring, residents are being called on to help.

Officials are asking people to break out their hoses and saturate trees on their own property and on city boulevards and local parks.

City trees on residential properties also need a good helping of water. Officials are asking for allowance on private front yards.

Contractors and city operations staff have been working steadily watering newly planted trees, but the fact is, they cannot keep up with the need for watering.

And don’t be concerned with over-soaking the roots. All trees need at least 20 litres of water a day –roughly two pails or two minutes soaking time. And young saplings require even more water. Remember, the trees have barely seen any hydration this month, so they’re especially thirsty.

Here are some tips for watering trees and plants in order to keep them healthy:

• Soak the soil slowly around the tree to make sure the roots get moisture.
• Less evaporation occurs if you water in the early morning or evening.
• During periods of little or no rain, new trees should be watered about twice a week.
• Let water soak in – don’t apply water faster than your soil can soak it up.

With files from the City of Toronto

 

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/storm_watch_stories3&stormfile=toronto_trees_dying_of_thirs_210711?ref=%20ccbox_weather_topstories