Did you know that forests occupy 70 million
acres in our nation's cities? New studies show that trees are
not only crucial to the aesthetic look of our cities; they also
help clean the air and lower the temperature.
"We can't live without air or water,
nor can any other creature, and yet we are destroying the primary
mechanism to clean our water and provide the oxygen for us to
breathe," said Lynn Morris of Baton Rouge Green, one of the
successful urban forestry programs featured in the documentary.
"When you cut down trees, you cut down
green spaces and you put up parking lots and roadways, you end
up increasing the temperature from five to ten degrees,"
maintains Georgia Tech University Professor William Chameides.
Cities such as Sacramento, Milwaukee, and
Austin have formed successful public-private coalitions to get
new trees planted and educate people about the importance of preserving
these vital resources. More cities around the nation are joining
this movement each year.
Narrated by actor Sam Waterston, star of
"Law And Order" and "The Killing Fields,"
The Forest Where We Live is a new documentary produced
by Louisiana Public Broadcasting which looks at successful educational
and hands-on conservation programs developed around the country
that try to halt the deforestation of our cities and plant new
trees. It premieres Thursday, October 23 at 7:00 PM on LPB.
Trees also have a major effect on the climate,
especially our cities' microclimates.
Rowan Rowntree, Urban Forest Ecology Researcher, USDA Forest Service: "It's important to see the city not as just a set of artificial buildings and impervious surfaces, but as having an infrastructure or a circulatory system weaved through it of live material. It's a vibrant renewable resource that unfortunately we take for granted as we walk through the city. But it's critical to life within the city. If we look at it as a rich tapestry of dynamic processes and interacting components. If we're going to just look at it as a set of street trees or as single elements, we're just not going to comprehend it."
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