The Editor,
Along with about 50 other people, I was delighted to be able to attend a "farewell to a tree" event in early August hosted by the PoCo Heritage Trees group (now renamed the Wondrous Tree Fellowship).
We were there to mark the upcoming loss of a magnificent Himalayan Cedar that will be removed by the city of Port Coquitlam to improve a parking lot. It is somewhat ironic this event took place only days after the last remaining intact ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic fractured and collapsed.
Like many people, I remain baffled that it is such a challenge to convince elected officials to take meaningful action against climate change. Estimates were that this tree had over 13 tonnes of carbon stored in its stout trunk and branches all of which is likely to be returned to the atmosphere if the wood is chipped or used as firewood.
The ice at the poles is rapidly melting. When this ice completely melts, sea levels are estimated to be somewhere between 200 and 230 feet higher than present. I suppose this means all of downtown Port Coquitlam will be under water and future generations will be swimming to Burke or Burnaby Island in search of dry land. The song-writer Pete Seeger said it best: “When will we ever learn?"
Elaine Golds, Port Moody
