The real San Francisco giants
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The Situationists once said, "Concrete breeds apathy," but at lest one activist in San Francisco is doing his damnedest to motivate the green-loving masses. As Paul Van Slambrouck of the Christian Science Monitor reports, Charlie Starbuck has volunteered for a citywide tree-planting program called Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) since 1981, "nearly without interruption. That's almost 30 years of weekly plantings, without pay, come rain or shine."
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And for good reason: A 2006 study by the US Forest Service found that about 12 percent of San Francisco is covered by trees. In contrast, trees cover nearly:
- 29 percent of Washington D.C.
- 22 percent of Boston
- 21 percent of New York
"It was a big turn on," Starbuck says of FUF. "It's easy to be obsessed with it because of the whole transformation that occurs. You change so much [by planting trees] in one morning. It's an emotional high for me ... It's the before and after. That's what it's about for me."
WATCH VIDEO: City Shorts: San Francisco
Goodbye Concrete, Hello Roots
A Few Good Reasons to Plant Trees in Your City or Town
- Trees Provide Oxygen (and Reduce Climate Change)
- Tree Provide Shade and Protection
