On Tuesday, the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton hosted the Nobel Prize–winning scientist William R. Moomaw, who introduced and advocated for the concept of “pro-forestation” policies. At the meeting, Moomaw discussed the state of the environment and how Americans can support their environments locally.
“Almost all cities and towns have trees, but they tend to never be central to the operations of the community,” said Moomaw. “The one point I really want to make from the beginning is that the large tree is an irreplaceable aspect.”
Moomaw praised the use of natural sources like trees rather than relying on man-made resources.
“They do remove carbon dioxide, and they store the carbon in the trees, but they also keep cities cooler by reducing the heat-island effect,” said Moomaw. “The trees then provide shade, so the heat of the sun doesn’t get to the streets and the concrete things. It evaporates water from the leaves, and the evaporation takes with it heat.”
He emphasized the irreplaceable value of large trees, which take decades to grow but provide significantly larger improvements to environmental health.
“The larger the tree, the more climate and biodiversity services it provides,” said Moomaw. “The annual net benefit is highest for large trees … 44 percent higher than that of smaller species.”
Moomaw continued to highlight the benefits of larger trees.
“You get the cooling and stormwater management increased, property values, noise reduction, biodiversity,” said Moomaw. “Lots of good things happen if you have these trees.”
Moomaw thinks Newton’s awareness of the benefits of larger trees sets it apart from other cities in New England and supports the environmental protection initiative.
“Newton is way ahead of most other cities in terms of its understanding [of larger trees],” said Moomaw.
Moomaw published multiple papers with Bob Leverett, a retired Air Force engineer and Newton citizen, after discovering Leverett’s 25-year-old habit of going out into the community to measure huge strands of large trees.
Moomaw explained that large trees are often cut down due to fear of potential damage.
“There’s a fear of damage as they fall,” said Moomaw. “The most common thing I hear from town tree wardens is that ‘Oh, it could fall and hurt somebody.’ They are also often removed for construction to make way for infrastructure.”
Moomaw claimed trees are too easily disregarded to make way for human convenience.
“We’re going to do something like another bicycle path,” Moomaw said. “‘Oh, those trees have to go.’ We will improve the traffic flow here. ‘Oh, those trees have to go.’ Every time there’s anything to be done, the trees have to go.”
Moomaw clarified that attempting to negate the effects of cutting down large trees is ineffective and replacing them with small trees to make room for infrastructure is counterproductive.
“A newly planted tree, to remove as much carbon as it produces during the transporting and planting, requires 28 to 36 years of life expectancy,” said Moomaw. “Every time a tree dies and is replaced by a new tree, we’re adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.”
Moomaw described the most efficient solution for protecting the existing trees through his coined term “pro-forestation.”
“[Pro-forestation] lets forests grow to achieve their potential for carbon accumulation and biodiversity,” said Moomaw.
He proposed that cities looking to balance pro-foresting with infrastructure development should first prioritize the trees and then build new structures depending on the inventory of the trees.
“This way, [infrastructure] will be located in a way around at least some of the trees,” said Moomaw. “Getting a requirement of that sort would be incredibly beneficial.”
He highlighted the need for real action against environmental degradation, referencing the failure of governments to take the steps outlined in the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement.
“Global net anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions must decline for about 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, reaching net zero around 2050,” said Moomaw. “But if you look at the graphs, what it tells you is that there’s just been no increase since then.”
Moomaw called for greater prioritization of trees to make true progress toward urban environmental health.
“Infrastructure always wins, and this is just not the way to a healthier ecosystem,” said Moomaw.
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