We should all go out on a limb

Today Online 11 Jun 08;

It’s time we speakup for the treesthat keep us cool
Prune trees so that they do not become top-heavy
Use of cars, morethan plastic bags, add to global warming

Letter from Mariann Maes
Letter from :Peter Syddall
Letter from :Vasathan


GABRIEL Tan’s account of his fight to save a 17-year-old mango tree in “Out on a limb” (June 6) has inspired me to be more courageous in my own fight against environmental “outlaws”, who sometimes include authorities ignorant of the impact of their actions.

Saving Gaia “one tree at a time” may sound cliched and insignificant, but a tree is able to cool and provide shade, and the older the tree, the more foliage it has to provide shade.

Apart from trees, which can be planted anywhere and everywhere without any harm to the environment, no other natural resource can benefit us in the same way.

The tree along Braddell Road that the Land Transport Authority cut down caused much furore among the public.

Its life was cut short because of a few accidents on the newly-revised route. Why should the tree be “punished” because of the recklessness of some drivers?

The same blame game is played out when heavy tree branches fall on pedestrians. Ignorant people might blame the tree as if it had maliciously caused harm.

Although the accidents are nobody’s fault, the tree will suffer just because it has no voice. And the authorities might cave in to public pressure and cut down the tree.

It is time for us to speak for the trees and for other creatures of Gaia. They have given us food, shelter, beauty and other things. Yet, we return the favour with an ungrateful hand.




THE mango tree some of us are trying to stop the management from felling is less than 1.5m from the fence at the back of my house. I am therefore closest to the tree and would likely be the first to suffer should anything untoward happen.

Hence, the owners of the property on which the tree is growing must maintain it by periodic pruning. This was done in the past. The tree has not been pruned for almost three years and is becoming top-heavy. But it seems strong and in no danger of falling.

This could change if it were allowed to grow without proper pruning, especially during the north-east monsoon period when we get strong winds and rain.

I strongly support Gabriel Tan’s appeal that the tree should not be felled but instead pruned. Trees should not be cut down unless they stand in the way of development (in which case replacement trees should be planted) or if a tree were unhealthy and thus unsafe. A pruned tree can continue growing without getting in anyone’s way. A felled tree is lost forever.



KUDOS to Gabriel Tan — a man who walks the talk, unlike others who blame global warming on plastic bags. Just the other day, a friend lamented how bakeries package each piece of pastry in individual plastic bags, saying that such liberal use of plastic will lead to global warming. The irony was he drove his SUV to the pastry shop when it was a mere 10-minute walk from his house.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that humans are adding carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a faster rate than plants and oceans can absorb it.

And Singaporeans are not dealing with the problem adequately. Look at the number of cars we have and the lengths to which we go to curb traffic problems by building numerous gantries. Yet, we can still easily buy cars at zero-per-cent interest.

The equation is simple: To fight global warming, we need to change our lifestyle. One way is to minimise our greed — theactions from which are inadvertently heating up the earth. And this greed is embedded in the larger picture of progress.

Related links

You Can Help Gabriel Save a Tree
on the flying fish friends blog