We recently caught up with the The Lorax of Chevy Chase, a tweeter and tireless advocate for importance of trees for the environment. Here’s a transcript of our interview:
Q: Why did you chose the name The Lorax?
A: The Lorax is a Dr. Seuss tale about a creature who defends trees in the forest. The Lorax said: “I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongue.”
Q: What is the purpose of @TheLoraxDC?
A: I started it to educate people on the negative environmental impact on Maret’s plan to build a sports field at the ECC.
Q: What’s the status of those trees?
A: As my namesake said: “I’m the Lorax who speaks for the trees, which you seem to be chopping as fast as you please.”
We were mortified that Maret chopped down 66 trees. Maret constantly misrepresented the health of the trees, saying most were dead. They said that over and over again at ANC meetings. But Maret’s arborist report said only a few were dead. Of the 73 trees surveyed, only 10 were dead, with 18 in poor condition. The rest were in fair to good condition. Thats 45 trees healthy trees. Now gone. Maret continues to misrepresent the health of the trees they demolished. But all you had to do was take one look at the field and you could see all the beautiful healthy tree trunks and stumps. Sadly this was all chipped and lays in piles on the field. None of the beautiful wood was saved.
Q: As a Lorax, why are trees so important?
A: Trees offer many benefits. They provide habitat for animals. We’ve had hawk sightings in the trees at the ECC field. Trees create a healthy environment. They provide shade and protection. They produce oxygen. They help the neighborhood manage heat during the summer. They absorb carbon dioxide. Every little bit helps. Also, trees help manage rain and stormwater. They take in water through their roots and release it through their leaves, absorbing the rain rather than letting it run into the streets and storm sewers. The roots of cut down trees cannot longer do this, despite what Maret claims. How can you talk about being a green city and being for the environment, yet Maret chopped all the trees down and wants to install a plastic turf on the ground?
Q: You mentioned plastic turf. Why is the Lorax concerned about that?
A: Artificial turf is terrible. It’s a huge carpet of plastic. To install it, you have to basically kill the microbiome of the soil. Dead. Water can’t penetrate into the earth beneath it, so that adds to the runoff. Particles of micro plastic and infill get washed into the local watershed. The plastic and infill is loaded with toxic chemicals, including PFAS, which is being outlawed in many states and localities, including Maine, New York, California, Pennsylvania and Colorado. Plus the plastic carpet gets super hot during the summer and it has to be watered to cool it down. Imagine that — watering plastic grass! It doesn’t biodegrade and takes up huge space in landfills. There are so many problems with plastic turf. No one in the Lorax family likes it and we absolutely won’t let our children play on it.
Q: Thank you, Lorax of Chevy Chase. Anything else you’d like us to know?
A: Yes. As Dr. Seuss said: “The word of the Lorax seems perfectly clear. UNLESS someone like you cared a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” I care. A lot. And I hope you do, too.
You can find the Lorax of Chevy Chase on Twitter at @TheLoraxDC.
A view of the field with the trees before destruction.
Destruction of the trees.
Piles of wood chips where more than 60 trees once stood.
"I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongue."
