Trees and the environment

There is a storm brewing at the Experimental Farm. Plans are afoot to use 43 acres to build a world-class hospital there. It will be a massive structure, complete with 20 acres of parking, including a four-story parking garage. It will be a car driver’s paradise. No more tedious searching for that last limited parking space. To build this hospital, many trees will need to be sacrificed, about 600 by a recent count.

Into this disputed site, a group of environmentalists have descended. They are rallying there. They are taking pictures. They are embracing these old trees. It takes decades to grow a mature tree. A full-grown tree is a wonder of nature. She soaks up carbon dioxide and releases oxygen into the air. When cut down, this function ceases and her rotting core releases carbon dioxide into the air.

This group of tree defenders have been dismissed as an insignificant bunch of tree lovers. An obstacle to progress. A hindrance to modernity. A troublesome lot at best. But wait! Does the oncoming environmental crisis mean nothing? At present the world’s green canopy is responsible for absorbing about 30% of the world’s carbon dioxide. Some of the hospital’s proponents have declared that even though many trees will be cut down, new young trees will be planted to replace them. However, there is a strategic flaw in this argument. We do not have decades to develop new forests. Responsible climate scientists inform us that what we do in this decade will determine our fate for the next century.

Sir David Attenborough Presents: Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet | Doc Preview

The simple devastating fact is this: We must act now to avert a terrible climate disaster. Though the problem is urgent and global, we must act locally and practically now. It has taken many years to choose this site for a new hospital. But for the environment’s sake a change is needed. It is true that a change of location will be gut wrenching. A totally new design will be needed. One might think that a decision to build a hospital on Experimental farmland will not harm the environment very much. However, it is just a multitude of such "small actions" that are leading us to an environmental catastrophe.

There is another site available. The NCC conducted an extensive study and recommended Tunney’s Pasture as the most suitable location for this hospital. It has 50 acres of Federal land. It has LRT access to the site. It has all the available space to accommodate this new hospital. With this choice, those precious trees and their green space, our lifeline to a sustainable area, would be saved.

We cannot ignore or escape the consequences of the environmental crisis. Traditional thinking and actions will need to change. The location of the new hospital is a case in point. Either we listen to the call of the environment, or if we do not, we will be engulfed in an unlivable planet. 

We can make a difference, but we must act now!

Rebellious Seeker

Ottawa