I'm bummed...

This tree was about 80 feet tall in the woods of VA. Why the hell couldn't they leave it alone, and plant a live one for the Capitol grounds?


I don't object to live trees, as long as they're coming from farms. But this is just another example of rethuglican Earth-rape.

And if this wasn't bad enough, dead whales and dolphins are washing up on the shores Down-under...and while no official explanations have been cited, it sure sounds like the result of more US sonar crap...:cry:

Earth-rape" . . .

They do this every year. I don't know when it began, but there are at least three such dead trees in DC each year: this one, the one on the WH's south lawn, and the one inside the WH.

:cry: indeed.

The indoor tree is usually around 15 feet, and could (though I'm not sure it always does), come from a tree farm instead of decimating public land.

The Capitol had a tree planted years ago for holiday decorating; but it died (in the 70s, I believe) and was never replaced. :(

maybe that was a different tree.

in the George Washington National Forest. Last years tree was about 75 years old.

Oregon may have donated the White House tree...

well, think of Treebeard. Maybe he will give DC and the anti-environmentalist Reps. a visit one day. ;)

how was your Holiday Goddess?

Just had my mom over to join us. How about you?

I'd love to see Treebeard stomp on some Congressional eco-pigs!

"Break the dam...release the river!"

the environment. They rape the Earth without a care.

On the subject of the dolphins/whales (that I think you are talking about) they were stranded on a beach in Tasmania. From memory I think it happened about a year ago at a different beach in Tasmania, and they still don't know the exact reason for it.

I was a helper at a whale stranding a few years ago, and it was one of the most heart-breaking things I have ever seen.

those wonderful creatures in such a helpless state!

"According to a 2003 report in the scientific journal Nature, active sonar may kill whales by giving them something similar to "the bends," the illness that kills scuba divers who surface too quickly from deep water. Large gas bubbles form in the blood vessels of panicked whales, causing organ damage and internal bleeding. The International Whaling Commission's Scientific Committee has declared that "overwhelming" evidence points to military sonar as the cause of mass whale strandings -- and expressed concern that the known cases may be only a fraction of the total number injured or killed.

Most of these strandings and deaths could be avoided if the U.S. Navy -- and the navies of other countries -- took simple safety measures to protect marine mammals while conducting routine training exercises."

Source: http://www.savebiogems.org/whales/

but it seems to be a tradition with the families in the White House. I use a fake tree and it looks just as good if not better than the real ones a lot of people use.

Edited to correct grammer.

I don't find live trees a problem when they come from farms, where the cultivators plant new trees to replace the old, and keep their farms running year after year.

But in the case of the Capitol tree, there's no reason they couldn't plant a permanent tree to decorate each year. There's no need to chop down a tree that's been around longer than most members of Congress.

Maybe it sounds weird, but I find that disrespectful.

connection. i recall when nrdc was raising awareness about the navy ratcheting up the evil to incl sonar. this was about 5 or so yrs ago

they simply could care less. doesnt matter if its animals or people - theyre expendable. every so often when im esp upset about what theyre doing, i think that its not my power or concern what will happen to them but i have a feeling theyll get their just rewards somehow

now im not wishing anything specific on them of course but the thought does allow me to let go.