Net Loss To U.S. Urban Areas Of Four Million Trees Annually

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WASHINGTON, DC, February 23, 2012 (ENS) - New Orleans, Houston and Albuquerque are losing trees faster than any other U.S. cities, and across the country tree cover is declining at a rate of about four million trees per year, finds new U.S. Forest Service research published in the journal "Urban Forestry & Urban Greening."

Researchers had expected to find a loss of trees in New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

"Our urban forests are under stress, and it will take all of us working together to improve the health of these crucial green spaces," said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. Urban trees provide benefits three times greater than tree care costs, as much as $2,500 in environmental services such as reduced heating and cooling costs during a tree's lifetime.

For the study, forest researchers David Nowak and Eric Greenfield of the Forest Service's Northern Research Station used satellite imagery to find that tree cover is decreasing at a rate of about 0.27 percent of land area per year in U.S. cities. This is equivalent to about 0.9 percent of existing urban tree cover being lost annually.

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http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2012/2012-02-23-091.html

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1. i just planted 34 trees

so i'm trying to help!

[CompassionRules]

2. Republicans Need to Be Outed

Republicans have a track record of environmental destruction due to being in bed with big oil and big businesses at the expense of the working man. It has concerned me greatly what is happening to our environment and after reading multitudes of research, the only way I can describe what they are doing is through a phrase I coined that I believe describes the problem to a "T:" Premeditated Environmental Homicide. They should be brought to justice.