Ayers, co-author of a Sierra Club book, An Appalachian Tragedy, is convinced that all hardwood tree species above 5,000 feet are in danger of dying unless personal and political changes are made. The easiest solution would be eliminating or reducing nitrogen emissions from smokestacks, a process that Ayers says is simple and well known. However, utilities don't want to be regulated. Ayers said that passage of legislation such as New York Sen. Patrick Moynihan's Acid Deposition Control Act, which would cut back 70 percent of nitrogen emissions, is needed to change the political climate. If we don't take action now, I am convinced that we will not be walking in the woods with our grandkids.
Trees purify the air and generate oxygen.
They provide a much needed source of clean air to help counteract growing pollution-related problems such as asthma and global warming. When forests die, they no longer use up nitrogen in the soil. This excess nitrogen runs off into streams and lakes, acidifying the water and depleting fish stocks. Trees are the lungs of the world. They filter out bad things.