When I arrived in Raleigh in 2005, it was called “Oak City,” with beautiful Pin Oak trees lining every street. Trees are vital in this southern climate, and most towns had arborists. NC State owned a huge forest in the southern part of the state — a gift that had been given for the study of forests in perpetuity. Somewhere around 2015 the Board of Trustees started a huge battle in order to sell that forest. There were protests, lawsuits, etc. The forest lost. You see, the EU had classified wood pellets as a “renewable resource” and someone set up a giant wood chipper factory not far from a North Carolina port. The Board of Trustees got a one-time cash infusion while the wood chip factory started clear cutting trees that had been loved and protected for hundreds of years. Once they finished there, the word went out. Every time I hit the highway, I would see 18-wheelers loaded with tree trunks, headed for the chipper factory. Today, it’s predictable. Any land with trees in it will be clear cutting as the first act of “development.” Yes, the climate is changing in North Carolina. But there is nothing natural about it.
My question about drones simply comes from the fact that someone, somewhere, is still dissatisfied with the pace of destruction. They seem to be going into suburban neighborhoods, pressuring homeowners and HOAs to cut down the few scraggly trees that remain? What’s going on? The only thing I can come up with is drones. I saw a video about the Ukraine war and a drone that was chasing a military jeep got destroyed by running into a tree. Also, the soldiers hide under trees to escape detection by drones. That’s my theory. What’s yours?
My question about drones simply comes from the fact that someone, somewhere, is still dissatisfied with the pace of destruction. They seem to be going into suburban neighborhoods, pressuring homeowners and HOAs to cut down the few scraggly trees that remain? What’s going on? The only thing I can come up with is drones. I saw a video about the Ukraine war and a drone that was chasing a military jeep got destroyed by running into a tree. Also, the soldiers hide under trees to escape detection by drones. That’s my theory. What’s yours?
