Dr. William Moomaw speaking at the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton, March 16, 2025 on “Why Protect Newton’s Trees?” (photo: Bruce Henderson)
In a presentation at the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton on March 18, Nobel Peace Prize winning scientist William Moomaw urged for the conservation of forests and local trees, citing the benefits of preserving larger trees and the consequences of cutting them down.
The event, Why Protect Newton’s Trees?, included a presentation followed by a Q & A session hosted by Mothers Out Front Newton, Green Newton, Protect Newton Trees, and FUUSN Climate Action Task Force.
Moomaw, who is Professor Emeritus of International Environmental Policy at Tufts University, has researched and documented climate change and the environment for decades. He was a lead author of reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. During his talk he discussed the important functions that trees and forests serve in the environment to combat global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it.
“It is the forests in Western Massachusetts, Western Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire that are keeping the Boston area cooler than it has any right to be, in terms of the warming that is taking place on the planet,” said Moomaw.
Moomaw said that urban trees provide many benefits in addition to storing carbon. They provide shade that can cool sidewalks and buildings, they reduce flooding by evaporating water, and they help maintain biodiversity.
However, trees in urban settings often get cut down due to fear of them falling, or their blocking development, or blocking electrical lines. Trees that are demolished are often bigger and older than the smaller trees that replace them, which means their replacement reduces overall…