Elms R Us by Karen I. Shragg
My city used to be covered with mature elm trees planted closely together. They formed arches over streets in a beautiful configuration that added value to neighborhoods. But then came the bark beetle. Because the trees were planted close together these fungus-carrying beetles had a hay day and soon the trees were dead and had to be removed. The solution was to decrease their density, at least 60 to 70 feet apart, and to plant diverse species with them because usually diseases like this are species specific.
So why are we like Elms? We are being densely planted in cities which welcome growth like it isn’t a recipe for disaster. We are learning with Covid 19 as our teacher, that our proximity is one risk factor for spreading the disease. When given the command to keep six feet away from others I wonder how one does that in a world where we have been cramming people into places for decades? Just the word mass transit used to be synonymous with being green, now we think of them as Petri dishes for disease.
Our whole world is turning upside down. We are living in the most ironic times but it is also an opportunity to rethink how we warehouse people believing that density is a problem solver of growth. How strange that spacious offices are sending people home to crowded apartment buildings in order to get away from people.
Experts tell us that pandemics are going to be with us even if we get this one under control. Humans are ripe for them because we have been tempting viruses with our addiction to growth and our total disregard for the way our density disrupts the natural world. We are so afraid of seeing what ultimately threatens our health with our required proximity and it is simply that we live in an overpopulated world.
Yes overpopulation, specifically the 5.5 billion we have added in less than a century and the density it requires, must become the focus of our discussions as a cure for what ails us. A short perusal of the literature will demonstrate its role in the spread of viruses. Canceling the discussion under some politically correct delusion is just another way to throw a monkey wrench into potential solutions to this economic and public health disaster. Besides this is global pandemic and pointing fingers between developed and underdeveloped countries is no longer relevant. We all need to reign in our populations by humane means or yes the virus and the ones yet to come will do it for us in ways that are too ugly to mention.
An ancient remedy for sore throats can be found in slippery elm bark, but perhaps this tree’s greatest contribution to humankind is its lesson on the need to recognize the chaos we create when we disrespect the way nature requires that we be sparsely planted on our limited planet.