We are at a critical juncture in the climate crisis and need a drastic reduction of CO2 in our atmosphere to prevent the catastrophic effects of further warming — and we need it now. Every action counts. What if we could sequester carbon, cool relentless summer heat, reduce pollution, and manage stormwater runoff? Governments would invest heavily in such technology. But trees already do all that and more. Yet in Newton, we are not treating our trees as the precious resource they are. The buzz of saws chopping trees to build ever bigger houses has become constant and we are losing our beautiful canopy of mature trees at an alarming rate.
The City Council is considering revisions to the Tree Ordinance to protect more trees by requiring permits and instating fees commensurate with the benefits trees provide. To prevent a rush on tree removal, a one-year moratorium has also been proposed, though a City Council committee, unconvinced of this risk, voted against it.
Incidentally, the day before the moratorium vote, a landscape service arrived next door to cut down 10 trees, including some on an easement of public land. Thankfully, the Urban Forestry department was able to prevent the loss of public trees and stopped the removal of several other trees that required a permit. My neighbor said she was pressured by the landscape service to remove the trees that day and was told they were unhealthy (which was untrue). She was unaware she needed permits. This convinced me there is indeed tree removal occurring without permits, inappropriate tree inspection by landscape services with obvious conflicts of interest, and a rush on tree removal due to the specter of the moratorium.
We need the stronger protections in the councilors’ proposal and we need the moratorium. Please sign this petition.
Laura Petrillo
