Another Reason to Save the Trees

For the last several mornings, I have woken up sneezing. My eyes itch most of the day (seems worse when the ceiling fan is on, bummer since it's getting warm). It's pollen time. I hate spring.

The major pollen producer is the pine tree. The male pine tree. Females don't produce pollen. ONE male pine can produce enough pollen to cover one mile.

If man did not interfere, Alabama would be nearly all hardwood trees.

When the timber is cut, fast growing pines spring up and dominate the landscape, covering land meant for oaks and hickory.

Pines are left to grow because they can cut quickly. Pines are useful for making paper.

But we're paying for our greed- boring beetles are killing the pine trees. The beetles don't bore into long leaf pines. We have a shortage of long leaf pines because while they do make massive trees, they take centuries to grow.

So now we've cut up most of our hardwood and the beetles are killing our el cheapo trees.

And my eyeballs itch.