The Voluntary De-forestation of T-Town

I was happy to hear that AEP/PSO listened to the concerns of Tulsa homeowners and have modified their tree trimming practices and those of their contractors.

Maybe just coincidently, I have noticed a disturbing trend in my mid-town neighborhood of voluntary de-forestation. By that I mean, homeowners are cutting down mature trees at an alarming rate.

We longed to move into our present neighborhood for years, but housing prices were too high for us then. Along came the oil bust of the mid-80's and corresponding decline in housing prices in Tulsa. Then came our chance. We loved the central Tulsa location. Convenient to just about everything, and still is! We loved the style of houses and how neatly the yards were kept. But we especially loved the canopy of mature shade trees, no doubt planted so carefully by former homeowners. You see, you plant a tree as an investment in the future. You know someday, someone or something will enjoy the shade, the beauty, the fruit, the leaves, etc. I love Joyce Kilmer's poem about trees.

I can remember driving to work in the mid-70's down 21st Street and admiring the beauty of those trees lining both sides of the street. Trees add so much to the esthetic beauty of any place.

I have included some pictures of trees that have been cut down recently. These are the ones that are just a block or two away from my home and on my walking trail. They are being cut down at an alarming rate. All of these in the last year. Some in the last few weeks.

The last picture is a tree that I had to have cut down. It was severely trimmed by PSO a few years back. This set the tree up for borers and it slowly died. I hired a contractor to cut it down as it was between two houses and close to the power lines. PSO would not cut it down.

All the rest of the pictures were of trees not previously trimmed or in power line easements. Our neighborhood is starting to turn over with lots of new people. I guess they don't love the mature trees as I do. At least two of them turned the tree into a form of art.....

Does anyone else know of this voluntary de-forestation going on in Tulsa?

Price Gouging in T-Town

To my knowledge, gas prices didn't hit the price in this picture (from San Diego, California, by the way), but they did get to $3.19 in the recent panic run-up. Quiktrip, seemingly is the local gasoline price setter. Make no mistake, I think Quiktrip is a great company and am glad it is here in Tulsa.

Prices have retreated somewhat, so our fears have temporarily waned. But the genie is out of the bottle and Katrina exposed our soft underbelly. The exposure has spawned a number of manifestations, one being outright price gouging. The national news reported that nationwide the average price of gas post-Katrina was $2.89. Why with refineries in West Tulsa, did the price here spike to $.30 above the national average? I can think of two main reasons.

One way is because of EPA ozone regulations, and Tulsa's propensity to exceed the EPA limits. Our city government in the past agreed to use a blended form of gasoline in the Tulsa area. This is a repeat of what is going on in the rest of the US. Kudo's to Engine of the Future for his insight and for this map that shows the areas effected. The EPA rules that govern this created shortage of blended gasoline have been suspended nationwide until September 15, 2005. That's far too short a time to do much good. I say suspend those rules until we have built an additional 10 refineries here in the USA. One result of the blended gas scenario has been artificial market pockets around the country with associated shortages and higher overall prices.

Another way is simply price gouging. This means that people make the conscious choice to raise prices to take advantage of a situation. And the price gouging is certainly not limited to gasoline. One local TV station reported the day after Katrina struck that in Tulsa Oklahoma the price of plywood went from $2.00 per sheet to $3.00 per sheet IN ONE DAY! Mind you, not one piece of plywood could have even been shipped to the affected area. In fact, it took the military several more days before they could get their specialized equipment into the area. No, this was pure and simply price gouging and those responsible should be punished, per the laws of our land. I think they should be made a public spectacle as well, but that's another story.

Let Tulsa Offer Hope

Just some quick thoughts about what we as Tulsans can do to help to those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

With the net loss of at least 15,000 jobs during the reign of Mayor LaFortune, its obvious that Tulsa has spare room. Let our Chamber of Commerce, City Leaders, County Officials, and our good citizenry get together and offer hope to at least some.

We have ample and readily available space for business, housing, transportation, you name it. We share the love of Jazz music with New Orleans and we too love great food and cajun music.

I am reminded of the flyers that were distributed when Oklahoma was still territory (before statehood) that offered such hope to encourage people to immigrate here. Let's get the word out that Tulsa is ready to take in 15,000+ from those people displaced. We need the restaurants, the jazz music, the gaming employees, the energy business. You name it and we need it. Leave the Vodoo, the culture of dependency behind. Tulsa offers hope to those who want a fresh start, to those who want to help themselves.

With space to spare and the need for a shot in the arm, we can offer incentives to get the people here. Offer a temporary break on taxes, rent, public transportation. In the long run, we will reap a greater reward than what we give up just now.

I challenge our officials to show true leadership at this time of great need. Tulsa can help, is helping,and will continue to help!