January 29, 2023
The Fresno Bee
A Call To Plant More Trees
I don’t think I need to remind anyone in the valley that the last few weeks have been wet. While some have (rightfully) pointed out the climate change connection to this spate of storms, it’s important to note that there are solutions we can use alongside fossil fuel reduction.
One that stands out is tree planting and healthy forest maintenance. Healthy foliage is among the strongest buffers to flooding we can hope for: it soaks up the water, breaks up the flow, and spreads out the rainfall. But, after decades of drought and mismanagement, we’ve lost millions of trees in the Sierras and the Central Valley. That’s to say nothing of the lack of urban tree cover in Fresno’s poorer districts.
Luckily, this is a problem with palatable and direct solutions. All of us can take part in helping to strengthen our forests and increase urban tree cover, either on our own or by joining groups like Citizens' Climate Lobby, who has recently launched a new Healthy Forest Initiative. Not only will this reduce the impact of floods: it’ll clear up the Valley’s notoriously bad air and give us shade during our infernal summers.
https://eedition.fresnobee.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=d64a689b-eac4-46b5-b76a-4f687dbdd21f
C.J. Wilson
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