A passing cold front spawned a band of severe weather last night through northern Bergen County NJ and Westchester County NY.  These intense storms with high winds caused power outages and knocked down trees. 

Where do you turn when you have a fallen tree on your property?

To an arborist, especially if the tree or limb is large. An arborist has access to specialized equipment to safely remove the tree. 

See expert tree removal rigging by our certified tree care experts.

Here are some tips from a certified arborist on how to prepare your trees for the next storm.

Top 5 Tips on preventing storm damage to your trees:

• Prune overgrown canopies. In the event of heavy winds, a tree canopy can act as a sail. Proper tree pruning will allow wind to pass through the canopy easily and eliminate hazardous limbs
• Cable weak branch attachments. Cabling and bracing create artificial support to structurally weak or injured trees. These mechanical supports prevent injuries such as branch breakage, which inevitably lead to wood decay.
• Water & Fertilize. Keep trees as healthy as possible with timely watering and proper fertilization. Healthy, vigorous trees adjust more quickly to changes in the environment, are more wind firm, and react more effectively to damage.
• Remove hazardous trees. Tree removal can be avoided in some cases, particularly when a safe and reasonable alternative is available. However, if a tree is hazardous and cannot be saved, it is best to call in a certified professional to aid in the removal.
• Call a Certified Arborist. A qualified arborist can help you make an assessment regarding tree health and the likelihood of trees falling during a storm by conducting periodic inspections using sound diagnostic practices.

For more information on tree care visit www.savatree.com

Right now we are focused on local conditions as landscapes throughout the north east and mid-atlantic are taking a beating with the one-two punch of unrelenting heat and near-drought levels of rainfall.  Leaves are drooping, turf is browning – landscapes are being stressed!

How can you help your lawn survive the heat?

1. Raise the height of your mower
2. Water in the early morning to help absorption
3. Water thoroughly – at least 1 inch of water per week

Click here  to learn how you can restore your lawn and increase drought tolerance and overall health

How can you help your trees and shrubs endure heat of summer?

1. Trees need water too! Make sure they get watered along with your lawn.
2. Place mulch within the drip line of the tree canopy
3. Prune dying or weak limbs to maximize water uptake efficiency

Click here to find out how you can rejuvenate your trees and shrubs

A certified arborist can help assess the needs of your landscape and make adjustments to your maintenance program as weather conditions change.

Connect with a SavATree Arborist

After several weeks of being inundated with statements, proposals, goals and costs, the Copenhagen summit is over. Not too many sources are reporting a positive outcome. However it is undeniable that the world’s ecosystems received some much-needed focus, and there seems to be more agreement on the importance of forest preservation - albeit without the means to pay for alternatives to land clearing in less developed countries. The following excerpt from the Associated Press website provides a fair summary:

But others said even without the legal framework, the forest program known as REDD – for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation – did benefit from the talks. World leaders at the U.N. talks in Copenhagen did agree to spend $30 billion over the next three years and $100 billion by 2020 to help poor nations – and some of that money could go toward the forest program.

“The failure to conclude a comprehensive agreement on forests is disappointing,” said Michael Levi, senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. “But if developed countries can deliver the $100 billion per year aimed for in the broader Copenhagen Accord, there is little doubt that a large part of that will go to help preserve forests.”

 REDD would be financed either by wealthy nations or by a carbon-trading mechanism – a system in which each country would have an emissions ceiling, allowing those who undershoot it to sell their emissions credits to over-polluters.

Reducing tropical deforestation is one of the most effective and inexpensive ways to reduce emissions, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

 Read the complete article: http://bit.ly/8kkk1N

Damon Winter/New York Times

Earlier this week the Copenhagen talks looked like  they might derail as developed and less-developed countries started hurling accusations at each other. Fortunately constructive dialog is now occurring on the topic of deforestation. The sight of a forest that has been levelled, such as the aerial photo (right),  is enough for anyone to stop in their tracks and grieve for what used to be. December 15 New York Times Reports:

COPENHAGEN — Negotiators have all but completed a sweeping deal that would compensate countries for preserving forests, and in some cases, other natural landscapes like peat soils, swamps and fields that play a crucial role in curbing climate change.

Environmental groups have long advocated such a compensation program because forests are efficient absorbers of carbon dioxide, the primary heat-trapping gas linked to global warming. Rain forest destruction, which releases the carbon dioxide stored in trees, is estimated to account for 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions globally.

The agreement for the program, if signed as expected, may turn out to be the most significant achievement to come out of the Copenhagen climate talks, providing a system through which countries can be paid for conserving disappearing natural assets based on their contribution to reducing emissions.

Complete article: http://tinyurl.com/ybwqdeh

 

Today’s headlines in The Jakarta Post are highlighting deforestation issues in Indonesia, and the challenges faced by less developed nations where the clearing of trees provides economic benefit to local people. Tree passion exists around the world, and has been ignited by the international conversations in Copenhagen. Here’s what the deforestation debate looks like on the other side of the world:

The question is no longer “whether” but “how” REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) could be well-implemented. The upcoming summit hopes to come up with more detailed talks and recommendations about REDD.

However, there are still some questions regarding the scheme. One of the big questions is whether it really can save forest ecosystems in developing countries. Deforestation in many developing nations relate to many aspects, mainly economic and social problems. In many countries, such as Indonesia, this problem happens on a huge scale. Hence, ensuring this scheme benefits people directly related to deforestation should be the main focus if REDD is implemented.

Indigenous people who rely on forests for a living should also be prioritized. Integrating REDD with community-based forest management would be an effective option to consider. The mechanism also has to ensure that the scheme not only saves spots of forests included in the REDD project. This scheme should cover large areas of threatened forest ecosystems.

However, it is in fact unrealistic to rely only on REDD schemes to preserve our forests. The Indonesian government and people must to do more than only utilizing funds that might come up from REDD. The fund should be used as a stimulant to push society in the right direction.

The government must seriously invest on saving our rainforests. It will then give us the chance to put a stop to the wholesale destruction of the environment that we are currently witnessing.  

Read complete article in The Jakara Post: http://tinyurl.com/ycnwlx9

 

The first few days of the Copenhagen summit have been dominated with speeches and declarations involving the economic impacts of a treaty, and a lot of finger pointing. Carbon emission goals are second on the agenda, and very little has been said about deforestation. Yet the Journal of Science has recently concluded that land use change is at least as devestating to the global climate as greenhouse gases. The following excerpt was published yesterday by Forbes.com:

. . . There is a growing recognition that greenhouse gas reductions are not the only option we have to slow and ultimately reverse global warming. Restoring and expanding global forests can also cool the planet.  Despite popular opinion, global warming is not only driven by greenhouse gases. The quantity of heat emitted from the Earth’s surface and ultimately absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere also contribute to rising temperatures. The extensive loss of forest and other vegetation across the Earth’s surface is significantly increasing the quantity of heat in the atmosphere, contributing in turn to warming. Indeed, a review published in the journal Science of the now extensive literature on land use and climate change concludes that land use change and greenhouse gas emissions may be contributing to climate change in equal parts. The influence of deforestation on climate on the planet as a whole is difficult to discern, as deforestation in one region can be offset by reforestation in another. But at the regional to sub-continental levels, the impacts of land use on climate are roughly equivalent to the effects of greenhouse gases on temperature.

The complete Forbes article can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/ybxslbq

 

The Copenhagen summit is bringing much-needed focus to the importance of trees in all countries around the world. Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe recently launched a new tree preservation initiative. This excerpt provides a glimpse of forestry concerns in Africa.

Throughout Zimbabwe, trees have been reduced to ash on the hearth or fireplace as they are being used for energy for cooking and heating. While rural dwellers used to use firewood for cooking, their urban counterparts have joined the fray due to the power outages that were being experienced.

“As we are in the annual tree-planting season, it is vital that we understand the centrality of trees to our existence. And as we follow deliberations at the historic Climate Change Conference underway in Copenhagen, Denmark, let us not forget the role trees play in absorbing carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases that absorb heat in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming.”

Last week President Mugabe officially launched the National Tree Planting Programme in Gweru where he lamented the wanton destruction of trees like the mutohwe. The President expressed hope that trees being planted nationally would cultivate a new culture of conserving flora, as they are the country’s heritage.

Complete article in AllAfrica.com http://tinyurl.com/yekt6sx

 

In a political environment that puts industrialized nations up against developing ones it is easy to lose sight of both the forest and the trees. Kudos to the European Union where the EU’s Minister for the Environment Andreas Carlgren is keeping sustainable forestry on the agenda.

Deforestation is responsible for one fifth of global emissions. Initiatives for the rainforest are needed in order to keep global warming below two degrees Celsius. “Rainforest devastation must be halved by 2020 and stopped by 2030. The EU is calling for the Copenhagen Conference to take decisions to stop rainforest devastation, support reforestation and create sustainable forestry. This is the only way to reduce emissions sufficiently quickly and achieve success in Copenhagen.” 

Complete article: http://tinyurl.com/ykoe9wu

 

This past week began with President Obama setting down a marker for the US to reduce emissions by 17% by 2020, which was followed by other goal setting declarations from other nations. Most notable was the goal that came from China, which holds the distinction of being the world’s worst polluter. Their goal is tied into their GDP, which effectively leads to China committing to increase their rate of carbon emissions. Next up was India who committed to avoid setting a goal for carbon emissions at all.
Here is how the Associated Press described the goal setting:
On China:
China promised last week to nearly halve the ratio of pollution to GDP over the next decade – a major voluntary step that came a day after President Barack Obama promised the U.S. would lay out plans at this month’s global warming conference in Copenhagen to substantially cut its own greenhouse gas emissions.

China’s plan does not commit it to an overall reduction in emissions, which will continue to increase, though at a slower rate.

On India:
Also Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke with Obama about the upcoming climate talks and said India “would play a constructive role in the negotiations and looked forward to a successful outcome,” Singh’s office said. But it did not say what, if anything, India is willing to do to combat climate change.

Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said there is “enormous pressure” for India to commit to some measures that are part of a deal. But he ruled out emissions reductions.

“Cutting emissions is out of question,” Pachauri told reporters in New Delhi. “How can a country like India at this stage of our development accept any cuts in emissions? That is totally out of the question. I don’t think anybody in the government would think of that at this point of time.”

The full AP article can be viewed at:

http://tinyurl.com/ykqeg9c

The SavATree community is hoping that reforestation goals will be included in the Copenhagen discussion and that everyone remembers that trees are cool!

Even devoted tree protectors can make a mistake by trying to change economic behavior while inadvertently causing a major climatic problem. As world leaders consider various economic incentives to increase sustainable practices it is important to remember that there are a lot of moving parts in the relationship between economics and climate.

Our Choice, by Al Gore, cites a recent example of unintended consequences when the US and other nations provided tax incentives to promote biofuels. As it  turned out, the promotion of biofuels was a significant contributing factor in the clearing of virgin forests for the expansion of palm oil plantations (in Indonesia and Malaysia). This tax loophole allowed importers of palm oil into the United States to receive a $1 per gallon subsidy if they added some biodiesel to the palm oil and then reexported the blend to European markets, where they received additional governmental subsidies intended to encourage the use of biofuel. The net effect is that the US and European taxpayers were actively subsidizing the destruction of virgin tropical forests in the name of what was originally believed to be an environmental benefit. (page 175) The loophole was closed by US lawmakers in 2009.