Quite Elephant,it seems a shame that the writer of this uninformed and slightly patronising letter felt unable to reveal their identity. Is being a tree hugger considered a crime?
Certainly the planting of trees close to highways is not a straightforward option as trees obstruct sight lines and can be the cause of collisions.

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Maybe it’s just me being thick but I can’t see the patronising aspect of the initial letter writer ???

I do think, as I’m sure you do, the general point trying to be made is a valid one – trees are good, in fact very good, for the environment, and whichever way you look at it, the more you plant, the more carbon dioxide they absorb and as a result, more oxygen they expel.

With a bit of common sense (i.e. don’t let the council planners near it lol) trees can be safety planted along highways and allow a good line of vision; and proper coppicing and forestry management will provide continued growth in tree numbers not a decline, with the benefit of wood fuels and sustainable building materials as a ‘by-product’.

And yes, why not encourage farmers in suitable areas to fill fields with fruit trees – much better the fields be used rather than ‘set-aside’ which the good ole taxpayer has to contribute towards.

In short, although I don’t consider myself a tree hugger, its hard to find much wrong with this letter writers thoughts …..

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The forests that are to be sold to the private sector are commercial forests. They are planted to be felled and then replanted, over and over again. (The wood mainly used for construction, etc, and not burning.) Indeed, by doing so they remove far more carbon than the much nicer broadleaf woodlands which will likely be sold or given to public trusts. Going back to the private forests, companies will want to buy them and keep them, even expand them, as it reduces their carbon emissions and so they will pay less carbon tax/in the carbon trading scheme.

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i think the writer makes a good point though, what ever you think about co2, trees are good, for food, wood, shade, aesthetics, millions more reasons, we should be planting as many as we can, everywhere and anywhere, if you own a patch of land anywhere, put a few trees in, not all will reach maturity, not all will save the planet, but as they say “every little helps”!

Its such little effort too, and really almost no cost, its simply a no regrets approach, you cant go wrong with a tree

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Does the letter writer seriously think that buyers will simply fell all the existing trees in order to sell the timber for less money than the land cost them in the first place? That’s what it sounds like to me.

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