Don Johnson, Candidate for Mayor wrote: > There are several varieties of elms in the US. Some are indigenous, > others are from northern Europe. Some grow as high as 100 feet.
RC: This is true. I never said anything that would contradict this. What I said is that a majority (if not all) Minneapolis boulevard trees are American Elms and that there is no variety known of as a Dutch Elm. There are in fact Elm trees in the Netherlands - which I assume was the source of the fungus that causes Dutch Elm Disease. > Cutting is probably > not old enough to remember when a tornado blew thru Minneapolis in 1980. RC: I'm not exactly sure what this sentence is trying to imply. Is Mr. Johnson trying to imply that people shouldn't consider what I wrote because I may be young? As an aside, I do remember the storms. I have friends who lost all their shingles in that storm. I also lived in a house several years ago that was damaged when, on a calm day, a boulevard elm tipped over due to rotten bole wood. > Several homes were heavily damaged and one person actually died when a > tree fell on him. RC: I did not recall that someone died, but that certainly is a tragedy. > The too tall decorative elms provide shade but any tree can provide > shade. RC: I agree any tree can provide shade, but not all provide the same "quality and quantity" of shade. Moreover, there are more considerations than just height and shade that need to be considered when planting a tree (as you point out with a desire to have edible fruit/nuts/etc). Maple, for example, can cause an immense amount of infrastructure damage due to the root system destroying sidewalks, curbs, and street surfaces. We, the tax payers, will have to repair and replace this infrastructure. >From a public safety point of view, American Elms were ideal. Their tall, vase shaped form allowed street lights to easily illuminate large areas of our streets. Many of the new trees being planted block much of the street light providing excellent hiding places for criminals. So we have three options (1) passively accept the increased risk of harm by criminals, (2) turn on our home's exterior lights to make up for the street light shading - thus using more power, or (3) pay for existing street lights to be replaced with lower, pedestrian-scale lighting (ok I personally like this option, but those on limited income may not). > The elm was over planted. RC: I completely agree, the American Elm was over planted. I wish our city would have recognized the need for a diverse urban forest long ago. I wish they wouldn't have planted so many American Elms but instead would have planted a wide variety of trees appropriate for the unique difficulties of the urban landscape. I wish they would have developed the city infrastructure to better accommodate a wider variety of trees by building narrower streets with wider boulevards and pedestrian scale lighting everywhere. I wish that the street car system that existed in 1920 was still in service today, complete with the brick roads that allowed the infiltration of stormwater. I wish that all the houses in the city built from the 1880's through the 1940s were fully insulated thus making shading the home for energy efficiency was less necessary. But none of these things happened. > About 85% of homes in Minneapolis are > ineligible for the grant money for solar energy the state offers because > of trees that are too tall and shade the houses. RC: Wow, that's a lot considering how many American Elms have been lost to Dutch Elm Disease. I'll bet that is really distressing to Mr. Johnson as it dramatically limits his potential pool of customers for his solar business. I do wonder though how much worse the urban heat island would be if all these homes had completely exposed roofs. We would really need the extra solar energy to make up for the dramatically increased need for air conditioning. To be honest, however, I do wish that the roof of every large commercial, industrial, and institutional building was completely covered with solar panels. I do also wish that the 15% of homes in Minneapolis that are eligible for grant money would install solar panels. I also wish that the grants were more flexible so that people like me, with my shaded home, could get a grant to put panels on my unshaded garage. > We desperately need edible landscapes. Our streets boulevards, parks and > yards should have more fruit trees. Instead we ship in fruit from all > parts of > the world in refrigerated trucks, planes, trains and ships. This produces > megatons of greenhouse gasses. RC: I agree we need more edible landscapes, I grew up in a household with an apple tree, raspberries, strawberries, and a majority of the yard planted with a vegetable garden. A friend of mine grew up in a house with an Oak tree, we ate Acorn pancakes a few times when we were young. Edible landscapes are great things on one's personal property where the homeowner does the work and has the responsibility for maintenance. I do still believe that when it comes to our boulevard trees, our urban foresters should have the last word. It may be appropriate for some trees with edible fruit/nuts to be planted on public property throughout our city, but it should be up to foresters (who know what an American Elm is) to select appropriate trees for appropriate sites after taking into consideration all the factors they need to consider. As an aside, I do eat fruit that is shipped into Minneapolis. I purchase ALL of my fruit from two sources (1) the Seward Co-op and Deli and (2) FruitShare CSA and neither of them have fruit trees in the city. > This is just one of the eco-tactics we must use to > try to slow global calamity and let's hope and pray that the warming of > the planet is not too much of a geometric progression. More at my web > site. RC: "Just one"? You brought up three: edible landscapes, solar technology, and global warming or were you referring to your proposal to bulldoze all the large trees in Minneapolis? Randall Cutting Seward REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
