Planting and Protecting Trees
Listen
Hour 2
Trees around the country are under assault from pests and disease. There’s the Asian Longhorn beetle that’s destroying maples, Thousand-cankers fungus that attacks Black Walnuts, and the Emerald Ash Borer that’s wiping out ash trees. And all this is occurring as we continue to learn more about the critical role trees play in the environment. Besides providing oxygen and capturing carbon dioxide, a tree can cut a home’s energy costs in half. Trees also soak up pollution, prevent soil erosion and flooding, and provide habitat for wildlife. Well, Philadelphia is trying to plant a lot more trees. Mayor Nutter has set a goal of 300,000 by 2015 and a new initiative in the region wants one million in the ground by 2020. This hour, we celebrate trees. Marty talks with PAUL MEYER, director of the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania and DREW BECHER, President of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. We’ll also hear from SVEN SPICHIGER, an entomologist with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, about the bugs devastating trees in our region.
Listen:
[audio: 090611_110630.mp3]
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.
Brought to you by Radio Times
Radio Times
WHYY's Radio Times is an engaging and timely call-in program that tackles wide-ranging issues of concern to listeners in the Delaware Valley.
Subscribe for free
