Dying Trees

Questions About the Increased Mortality Rate of Trees

Daniel,

Thank you so much for writing back. I realize that trees have been declining for probably decades, but from what I have seen, it has up until now been a tree here and there.

By sudden, I mean that since last summer to now, EVERY tree is visibly in severe decline - if not completely bare. I have been watching carefully since last July, when the deciduous leaves began looking scorched, and at that time I thought it was a problem reserved to them. The pine trees looked great until about end of Sept/October when they started dropping needles and now if they're not completely dead they are so thin you can see the trunks and usually all the way through the far side. Evergreen shrubs were fine until just February. Everything is droopy and wilted. When you touch a leaf - any leaf - it feels like thin dry paper.

It is astounding to me that no one but me and you and a few people we know are having this discussion. I have sent dozens of letters to foresters, conservation and environmental foundations, newspaper editors, blogs and academic researchers and scarcely anyone seems concerned.

Did you happen to see on my blog about the infrared camera? I am hoping to meet with the guy who is here from UK to train Americans on Monday when he will be in NY. He's going to be in Philly Thurs & Fri if you are interested.

The utility of it is like CAT scans that find tumors in humans. I think you are correct, the damage to trees is irreversible, and we are stuck with that. However, the sooner it can be unequivocally demonstrated to the blissfully ignorant, the more time we have to address the ozone problem and hopefully be able to continue to grow food.

How widespread do you think this degree of damage is? I've been from VA to MA and it is the same there.

best,
Gail

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