Can anyone recommend a good dealership where I can buy a Ford Excursion to park in the driveway I’m planning to create at the side of my house after I cut down the huge tree that’s there?
A tree killers vs. tree huggers post seems a good change of pace from the daily team bear vs. team bull posts.
OP never responded to cmu’s question – why? I still think a reasonable question. And to brooklynjennie and any other defensive members of team tree killers, it’s a public forum, as vanburenproud pointed out, and reasonable to ask why you want to take down a tree. I think Urban Arborists who I recommended would also try to do responsible pruning.
Collectively we’re going to have to make some changes if we’re not going to continue what I heard some folks on the radio last night describing as the ponzi scheme we’ve been running, spending the future livable environment of our children and grand children in the way we live & consume today.
To renomandru – that list of questions are things I think about, and if I don’t always make the most green choices I don’t think it’s hypocritical to hope that we can all be mindful of the impact our choices.
I thought about taking down one of a few trees around my house (because it goes at an angle in to a neighbor’s property and drops branches and leaves inconveniently) but I’m glad it’s still there for the shade it provides, keeping the house cool in the summer, aside from any benefit it has as a shared resource.
It’s also the case that most of the responsible arborists – Hollis included – will argue for saving trees they think are worth keeping & will also only prune responsibly: they won’t top a tree if that will eventuate in its impairing the health of the tree.
There are times that arborcide is called for.
I have to say I have enjoyed and generally respect your balanced input over the past couple of years, but I think challenging the OP to justify removing a tree borders on self-righteousness and meddling. It is all too easy to talk disapprovingly of “killing” a tree when it is somebody else’s. And I’m sorry, the word “killing”, while technically accurate, is provocative in this context.
If the OP is fair game, let’s put this into context, shall we?
Pious environmental admonitions, here we go. Do we all research the source and means of “killing” of the wood in our furniture, flooring, plywood, framing, etc? No contributors to South American deforestation there, right folks? Do we all use public transportation even when it is inconvenient? Those of us who own cars, did we resist the tempation to upgrade to that more powerful engine? Do we recycle everything we possibly can? Do we all use smart power strips and LED or at least CFL-based lights? Do we religiously power down all unused appliances? Ever set the heat to more than 68% F? All Energy Star-rated appliances, right? We buy our groceries in bulk wherever possible, avoiding unnecessary packaging, right? We return our plastic bags to the grocery stores to force them to recycle or issue recylable paper. We lobby NYC to authorize the recycling of more types of plastic. We all switched to “green” providers of electricity years ago of course happily paying the premium. We don’t ditch printers and monitors and TV’s after 5 years of productive use but are proud to extend their life to 10+ years. We recycle all of our toner cartridges, right? We actively ride share. We use only the water we actually need. We don’t buy bottled water because NYC water is just fine, thank you. And we buy green toilet paper even if it sucks and it breaks at the most inopportune time.
If you can say yes to all the above, you are probably from Europe or have been picked on all of your life for your commitment to the cause.
I’m sorry, but it is just so fashionable to defend a poor tree on this forum, but practicing real environmentalism is an afterthought for most, I’m convinced. Less hypocrisy and more intellectual honesty folks. CO2 reduction, indeed.
Even though I am looking to remove a tree myself, I’ve got to defend Putnamdenizen and others on this one.
First, it’s a public forum. If there’s a shared expectation like Good Stewardship of Resources Like Trees then it is reasonable to expect it to be asked about. I mean, if you came on here and asked about the best freezer for human brains, there would certainly be questions asked even if you were a pathologist legitimately needing to store some brains, because we share some expectations about cannibalism and murder, to take an extreme example.
Second, trees are shared resources. My tree matters to my neighbors and for that matter folks in the Bronx and Guangzou, for the valid reasons like CO2 reduction mentioned above.
And for that matter, I don’t think it’s particularly loaded to say that you kill a tree when you chop it down. It’s not like calling a zygote a baby. It’s literally just true that you kill a tree when you chop it down.
That said, there are certainly good reasons to do so. The tree I’m going to kill is growing right under another tree, and it’s really struggling for resources there.
Putnamdenizen, I think CMU’s word “kill” justifies a certain defensiveness. It is a loaded word, to say the least. Not particularly “polite” either, I would say.
I would have ignored the slightly provocative challenge, and have no axe to grind with CMU, but I, too, find the rush to judgement by some of our community unfortunate.
Do we have to submit an environmental impact statement for public scrutiny every time we ask for a contractor recommendation? Steel fabricator you say, why not use bamboo, aluminum, fiberglass? Oil-based paints or floor finish, oh horrors, think of the VOC’s. Day laborers, think of the exploitation. And the displaced American workers. Let’s not forget that it is our obligation to let everyone else project their own shortcomings and environmental shortcomings on our modest little projects.
I suspect most of us would be exposed as hypocritical. Hiding behind our relative anonymity.
Defensive much, brooklynjennie? People have a right to ask polite questions of other people without it being assumed they are going to be jerks about the answer.
Can anyone recommend a good dealership where I can buy a Ford Excursion to park in the driveway I’m planning to create at the side of my house after I cut down the huge tree that’s there?
A tree killers vs. tree huggers post seems a good change of pace from the daily team bear vs. team bull posts.
OP never responded to cmu’s question – why? I still think a reasonable question. And to brooklynjennie and any other defensive members of team tree killers, it’s a public forum, as vanburenproud pointed out, and reasonable to ask why you want to take down a tree. I think Urban Arborists who I recommended would also try to do responsible pruning.
Collectively we’re going to have to make some changes if we’re not going to continue what I heard some folks on the radio last night describing as the ponzi scheme we’ve been running, spending the future livable environment of our children and grand children in the way we live & consume today.
To renomandru – that list of questions are things I think about, and if I don’t always make the most green choices I don’t think it’s hypocritical to hope that we can all be mindful of the impact our choices.
I thought about taking down one of a few trees around my house (because it goes at an angle in to a neighbor’s property and drops branches and leaves inconveniently) but I’m glad it’s still there for the shade it provides, keeping the house cool in the summer, aside from any benefit it has as a shared resource.
It’s also the case that most of the responsible arborists – Hollis included – will argue for saving trees they think are worth keeping & will also only prune responsibly: they won’t top a tree if that will eventuate in its impairing the health of the tree.
There are times that arborcide is called for.
Call Hollis at Prospect Tree. He does excellent work.
(718) 871-1354
Vanburenproud,
I have to say I have enjoyed and generally respect your balanced input over the past couple of years, but I think challenging the OP to justify removing a tree borders on self-righteousness and meddling. It is all too easy to talk disapprovingly of “killing” a tree when it is somebody else’s. And I’m sorry, the word “killing”, while technically accurate, is provocative in this context.
If the OP is fair game, let’s put this into context, shall we?
Pious environmental admonitions, here we go. Do we all research the source and means of “killing” of the wood in our furniture, flooring, plywood, framing, etc? No contributors to South American deforestation there, right folks? Do we all use public transportation even when it is inconvenient? Those of us who own cars, did we resist the tempation to upgrade to that more powerful engine? Do we recycle everything we possibly can? Do we all use smart power strips and LED or at least CFL-based lights? Do we religiously power down all unused appliances? Ever set the heat to more than 68% F? All Energy Star-rated appliances, right? We buy our groceries in bulk wherever possible, avoiding unnecessary packaging, right? We return our plastic bags to the grocery stores to force them to recycle or issue recylable paper. We lobby NYC to authorize the recycling of more types of plastic. We all switched to “green” providers of electricity years ago of course happily paying the premium. We don’t ditch printers and monitors and TV’s after 5 years of productive use but are proud to extend their life to 10+ years. We recycle all of our toner cartridges, right? We actively ride share. We use only the water we actually need. We don’t buy bottled water because NYC water is just fine, thank you. And we buy green toilet paper even if it sucks and it breaks at the most inopportune time.
If you can say yes to all the above, you are probably from Europe or have been picked on all of your life for your commitment to the cause.
I’m sorry, but it is just so fashionable to defend a poor tree on this forum, but practicing real environmentalism is an afterthought for most, I’m convinced. Less hypocrisy and more intellectual honesty folks. CO2 reduction, indeed.
Even though I am looking to remove a tree myself, I’ve got to defend Putnamdenizen and others on this one.
First, it’s a public forum. If there’s a shared expectation like Good Stewardship of Resources Like Trees then it is reasonable to expect it to be asked about. I mean, if you came on here and asked about the best freezer for human brains, there would certainly be questions asked even if you were a pathologist legitimately needing to store some brains, because we share some expectations about cannibalism and murder, to take an extreme example.
Second, trees are shared resources. My tree matters to my neighbors and for that matter folks in the Bronx and Guangzou, for the valid reasons like CO2 reduction mentioned above.
And for that matter, I don’t think it’s particularly loaded to say that you kill a tree when you chop it down. It’s not like calling a zygote a baby. It’s literally just true that you kill a tree when you chop it down.
That said, there are certainly good reasons to do so. The tree I’m going to kill is growing right under another tree, and it’s really struggling for resources there.
Putnamdenizen, I think CMU’s word “kill” justifies a certain defensiveness. It is a loaded word, to say the least. Not particularly “polite” either, I would say.
I would have ignored the slightly provocative challenge, and have no axe to grind with CMU, but I, too, find the rush to judgement by some of our community unfortunate.
Do we have to submit an environmental impact statement for public scrutiny every time we ask for a contractor recommendation? Steel fabricator you say, why not use bamboo, aluminum, fiberglass? Oil-based paints or floor finish, oh horrors, think of the VOC’s. Day laborers, think of the exploitation. And the displaced American workers. Let’s not forget that it is our obligation to let everyone else project their own shortcomings and environmental shortcomings on our modest little projects.
I suspect most of us would be exposed as hypocritical. Hiding behind our relative anonymity.
I’m with you on this one, brooklynjennie.
Defensive much, brooklynjennie? People have a right to ask polite questions of other people without it being assumed they are going to be jerks about the answer.
5onsackett-
you do not need to answer any of the questions about why- take down your tree and enjoy.
If you can, let us know how it goes, I might have a tree to take down too.
thanks
I was going to recommend Urban Arborists who did a tree pruning job for me, but I’ll have to 2nd the “Why?” question from cmu –
Unless it’s unhealthy beyond rescuing, it’s a bad idea to remove trees so you can have a sunny backyard for grass, or just to avoid raking leaves.
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/trees_greenstreets/treescount/treecount_benefits.php
Trees provide shade, reducing the demand for electricity for cooling in the summer.
…
Trees indirectly reduce emissions of CO2 from power plants by reducing building energy use. Also as trees grow, they remove CO2 from the atmosphere.