Warning: Trees Can Endanger Your Health

The fear of negligence and liability lawsuits is rampant in today’s America. More and more, we are turning into a nanny state, in which even the minutest risk needs to be prevented, mitigated and legislated. Case in point is the large number of old trees which the City of Santa Monica is currently cutting down. Why? For the most part because these trees could potentially fall over and (gasp!) injure or kill someone.

Never mind that the risk is so remote that the National Safety Council does not even keep track of it. Compare that to the risk of driving a car on a public street, or that of becoming a crime victim. Indeed, the risk of catching Lyme disease (from an infected tick) or West Nile Fever (from an infected mosquito), both of which are found in our area, is much higher. Indeed, I would be willing to bet that the risk of getting killed by lightning is higher than that of getting hit by falling tree.

One needs to understand that Santa Monica, the city in which I currently live, is quite wealthy. What probably would have been just an accident in some other place became a huge lawsuit here when such a freak accident involving a tree did indeed happen here. So now, we are throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Ever mindful of lurking dangers to the public while watching the City’s finances, the City Attorney and other bureaucrats have decided that it is far better for all of us if we remove these old, mighty trees and replace them with tiny new ones. Not only do saplings have a smaller tendency to fall over and kill unsuspecting city folk, but they are also cheaper to prune and maintain. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Our public parks will be very safe now.

As for me: I have sat under these old trees countless times. And I have always been quite content with taking that risk in exchange for their majestic beauty, the shade and the wonderful scent. I spent the last few days on a personal cruisade to stop the cutting in the park adjacent to where I live. I was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times and various local papers, addressed the Santa Monica City Council and spoke at various neighborhood association meetings. Unfortunately none of this was successful, and the 80 – 90 year old trees fell victim to the chainsaws during the last few days.

Here is some press about it. (The reporter misspelled my last name):

City Removes Reed Park Trees