It's that time of year when the leaves are gone and the lichen and mosses growing on the tree branches take center stage #Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #OurNeighborhood #Lichen #Mosses

Yes nature is good for kids and also adults. Let's keep nature and trees in our cities as we add more needed housing. We can do both with good planning.

And Trump and his GOP MAGA Cult following are proposing burning more coal and oil as the impacts of climate change increases.

Autumn fallen leaves can be dramatic and a delight to our eyes.

"According to the US Forest Service, urban forests have an economic impact in the billions of dollars: $5.4 billion in air pollution removal, $5.4 billion in reduced energy costs, and $2.7 billion in avoided emissions. Beyond economics, trees safeguard environmental health ...humans included."

Momentum builds for new leadership!

And it goes on and on as GOP MAGA Cult is afraid to do anything that upset the WannaBe Dictator.

An example of action being taken in Seattle to save more trees as the city increase efforts to build more needed housing. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell signs a new Executive Order to increase protection for existing trees.

Fall colors on display at the Seattle Arboretum.

“Eighty to ninety percent of issues urban trees face,” Erwin told me, “come from problems in the growing place.”

An example of how King County in Washington State responded to the need to address clearcutting of lots in unincorporated areas. A final tree protection ordinance has not been adopted yet but 2 studies of what cities are doing and what the county is not doing have been done.

"Street trees provide a wide range of environmental, social, aesthetic and economic benefits. They improve air quality, conserve energy, reduce stormwater impacts, increase property values, provide habitat for local wildlife, and enhance the appearance and character of neighborhoods."

Sunset at Golden Gardens Park in Seattle, Washington. Across Puget Sound you can see the Olympic Peninsula in the background.

Wise words to think about and act on.

Bellingham "Despite its beauty, Samish Crest Open Space faces threats from a growing population. I have spent much time contemplating how to balance protecting wildlife corridors, trails, and scenic views with the need for more housing. ... I believe it is possible to achieve both objectives."

Bellevue, WA - a Northwest Urban city striving for 40% tree canopy cover. See more details here.

"...research published in The Lancet has found that increasing tree cover in European cities to 30 percent could have reduced premature deaths from urban heat islands by 40 percent."

"When developers look to clear-cut residential lots to put in more housing, they often point to street trees as a viable alternative to keeping the city green. But Seattle can’t accomplish its own tree canopy goals without preserving and protecting existing trees on private properties."

TreesCharlotte simple on the ground temperature test shows an 11 F degree temperature difference between open ground space with no tree cover and under trees. Why trees in neighborhoods where people live can have multiple health benefits.

A "basic tree protection area" that can not be modified during development is what is killing trees. It is contrary to guidelines issued by the International Society of Arboriculture. One inch tree diameter equals 1 foot of radius of basic tree protection area is a made loophole by Master Builders.

The State Legislature has passed HB 1110 and requires cities over 75,000 to allow 4 plexes & 6 plexes on all residential lots. So that is no longer an issue. The question is how you do that. TreePAC supports incentives for stacked flats (build up) on all lots as well as common walls on row houses.

This was a post from 2016 and is no longer the policy of TreePAC. A different Chair headed up TreePAC at that time and the board had a different membership composition. Tree PAC currently supports building needed housing and protecting trees. Build up & consolidate, not spread out in separate units.

People had only one minute to speak and there are over 100 possible amendments. Speakers prioritize one or two issues. The legislature already with HB 1110 requires large cities like Seattle to allow building a minimum of 4 housing units and up to 6 per lot in residential zones. That's decided.

And how would it accelerate tree loss? The basic tree protection area loophole allows most trees, particularly large ones, to be removed by developers & not how the International Society of Arboriculture describes tree protection areas as being able to be modified for tree species & site conditions.

Article in Lancet on value of urban trees. - “planting urban trees offers an important opportunity to mitigate high temperatures and, compared with other strategies, is relatively simple and cost-effective to implement.”

Madrone tree in Seattle. It naturally sheds its thin, reddish-brown bark as an evolutionary defense against fungi, mosses, lichens, & insects that can harm the tree. The peeling reveals smooth, greenish bark underneath, which then photosynthesizes & turns red as it is exposed to sunlight.

Living on the hill is fun 🌳 #City #Trees #PNW

This is the consequence of developers inserting amendments into a Seattle Tree Protection Ordinance update 2 years ago that greatly increased their ability to clearcut most lots to increase housing density. Cities can both build more housing and save trees with better site planning and coordination.

"The extreme heat isn't just uncomfortable; it's the top cause of weather-related fatalities nationwide. According to a New York City mortality report, extreme heat kills an average of 350 New Yorkers each year." Planting more trees can help reduce heat islands in urban areas.

Increased development in Seattle neighborhood residential zones will allow 4 - 6 housing units on a single lot, increasing significantly tree loss at the same time Seattle has a goal to increase tree canopy to 30%. Current tree ordinance unfortunately allows developers to remove most trees on lots.

CDC following no scientific or medical regimen. Facts no longer matter. Scientific and medical data no longer matter. Just how crazy the Trump GOP MAGA Cult is. For example, the fewer people who get COVID or measles shots, the more people who can get sick and expose you and others.

#climatechangepost: North American forests have burned more often in the past, but the impacts are now greater www.climatechangepost.com/news/north-a... Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/06/c...

"Summer heat is not felt equally. Trees are one reason why. A new online tool, developed by conservation nonprofit American Forests and the Washington Department of Natural Resources, lets Washington residents explore where those inequities exist. It covers urban areas across the state."

August Morning. Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa. #summer #nature #trees #city #travel #biking #MyOttawa #photography

Another #MossyMonday is upon us again!! Get your MOSS on everyone!💚🌿💚 "Moss dines upon boulders, slowly but devastatingly, in a meal that lasts for centuries." - Elizabeth Gilbert #moss #boulder #photography #nature #westcoast #islandlife #beauty #green #glow #eastcoastkin

Please enjoy, in these trying times, the best tree in Washington, DC.

Tree canopy measurements to assess canopy environmental impacts need to include both canopy area & canopy height to calculate canopy volume. Getting a value of natural capital in an urban area depends on both canopy area and volume for assessment of storm water runoff, heat island impacts and more.

In a new digital twist to environmental individualisation of responsibility, the UK government is now advising people to “[d]elete old emails and pictures” in data centres to help with the current drought. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Post or quote post a photo, any subject, you look in August 2024. #OneYearAgoAugust #ThursdayGreen

Watching the clouds move in the Seattle, WA sky

Very busy bee on sunny day in Seattle garden

Graceful. The Utah Juniper just goes with the flow. #landscape #landscapephotography #Nature #photography #EastCoastKin

In the U.S., some parents habitually tamp down on wild, free play—which could be holding children back. But “providing kids with more freedom doesn’t require a lot of money,” Henry Abbott writes. “Mostly, it just requires a little creativity.”

Washington Park Arboretum_18 #photography #urbannature

I find Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium) fascinating, particularly their sudden bursts of growth. This is an Arthur Menzies hybrid from the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle. #garden

one of the single best deals in streaming. i've been paying for PBS Passport for years. it rules

The smoke from the Bear Gulch fire on the Olympic Penninsula is shrouding Seattle late this afternoon. It's happening because this morning I told someone how wonderfully smoke free this summer has been. And I immediately knew I'd doomed us. 😳

Dr. Katalin Karikó who won a Nobel Prize for developing mRNA vaccines responds to RFK Jr: "When you are sick, you wouldn't ask for advice from a lawyer like Kennedy. You ask experts, your physician, for advice."

No one should ever have the power to autonomously cancel hundreds of millions of dollars for scientific research based on some lies they saw on YouTube.

Scientists are fighting a war on cancer… would be helpful if the leader of the top US health agency didn’t keep taking cancer’s side.