Solution starts at home
Danger of tree loss a world concern
By Emily Rosenbaum
Senior Editor
One-third of the Earth's forest
now is gone and every second
another expanse of trees the size
of a football field is lost, reports
John Rosenow, executive director
of the National Arbor Day Foun
dation.
The problem may seem too
overwhelming to be dealt with,
but experts say the solution starts
at home.
Planting a tree is a good begin
ning, said Steve Schwab, city ar
borist with the Lincoln Parks and
Recreation Department.
The importance of something
as simple as a tree often gets lost in
the recent environmental wave,
he said, but trees provide unique,
multiple, inexpensive aid to the
Earth.
Trees offer shade, purify the
air, protect from soil erosion, at
tract wildlife, offer food and make
communities more attractive,
Schwab said.
"They are unique in that as they
grow they appreciate in value," he
said. "As they grow larger, more
air pollutants are filtered out and
they actually increase the value of
residential areas."
The American Forestry Asso
ciation reports that a 50-year-old
mature shade tree creates benefits
for its owners totaling $50,000,
Schwab said. Such a tree will in
crease the property value, help
reduce cooling and heating costs
and help conserve water by shad
ing lawn areas, he said.
And, that $50,000 payoff comes
from an initial purchasing price of
$20, he said.
Despite their value, national
statistics show that for every four
trees that are removed or die in
cities, only one is replaced, Schwab
said.
"That figure should at least be
equal, and^we actually should be
planting more than we remove,"
he said. "We should be thinking of
the future."
One man who thought about
the future and the trees' part in it
was J. Sterling Morton.
Morton, who moved to the
Nebraska Territory in 1854, advo
cated tree-planting to help reduce
the loss of topsoil and to provide
fuel, building materials ana shade.
Morton began Arbor Day on
April 10, 1872, and the National
Arbor Day Foundation, headquar
tered in Nebraska City, is gearing
up for the 119th annual Arbor Day
on Friday.
Cindy Meyer, executive vice
president of the Nebraska City
Chamber of Commerce, which
helps sponsor Arbor Day,
said she grew up in Nebraska City
learning about the importance of
trees for clean air and more basic
things, like providing homes for
wildlife.
She said a visitor to Nebraska
City recently asked her where
people would find room to plant
more trees in town.
"I told him there's always room
to plant more trees."
This year the town is planning
many activities stretching from
Wednesday to Sunday, she said.
Barbecues, festivals, awards,
crafts shows, environmental aware
ness games, tree-plantings, flea
markets, a parade and a Lewis
and Clark re-enactment at John
Brown's Cave are a sampling of
the festivities.
Meyer said the purpose behind
Arbor Day still is apparent today,
even amidst all the celebrations.
The environment always was
foremost in Morton's mind and
Arbor Day was the perfect way to
celebrate and to work for the fu
ture, Meyer said.
"Other holidays repose upon
the past; Arbor Day proposes for
the future," Morton once wrote.
Water
Rites
Running water until cool
(30 seconds)
1.5 gallons
Shaving with water running
7 gallons
One load of laundry
40 gallons
Running dishwasher fullcycle
16 gallons
Washing car with hose
running
125 gallons
the unmode bed
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