A Greek Tragedy

It has become impossible to find any stretch of road that doesn't exemplify the free-fall death of trees.

In a way, it's easy to understand why people aren't frantic about dying trees. The pines, for instance, are camouflaged. So many are devoid of any needles, they masquerade as deciduous trees.

Although actually, they are dead. The tree smack in the center of this photo is a pine without any needles.

Here is yet another example, a few feet along the road. Even those that retain needles look frozen, like cadavers.

Newly planted nursery stock are succumbing to toxic gases at the same devastating rate as older specimens.

Here are old, established trees. The conifer on the right has no needles left whatsoever, and the conifer on the left is thin and will soon match its neighbor.

In front of them is a deciduous tree, also exhibiting signs of imminent death - holes, lost bark, absent terminal growth. I don't know what it's going to take for people to recognize the carnage that surrounds them. It is likely to be a very interesting spring!

This video, which has lovely footage and music, was actually produced in Greece.

lost trees,ghost trees,dead trees from DaphneK on Vimeo.