Why isn't Tamil Nadu more green?

The photo on the left is of a neem tree at my parents'. My mom planted it as a sapling seven years ago. Oklahoma trees that are comparable (in lifespan and cultural significance -- no one rhapsodizes about the Bradford pear in their yard when they were a child!) would be elms and oaks.

My mom's neem tree is now a foot in diameter and about 25 feet tall. A seven-year old elm in Oklahoma would be lucky to be 6" wide and 12 feet tall. It's not an accident that in American folklore, planting a tree is something you do for the next generation.

If trees here can grow so fast so well, why are there not more trees?

No comments:

Post a Comment