Attention floridians

yeah, I wish they would do that here in CA. People do the most horrible things to trees here and it's all legal.

Every fall, a big part of the economy in our valley has become "tree specialists" topping all the trees in one's yard, so the owners don't have to prune or clean up. This leaves an ugly, practically shadeless, stunted tree that sends out thousand of tiny "sucker" branches in the spring. Then, people wonder why it's so friggin hot in the summer.

If it's not that, people will just hack down a perfectly healthy, giant 50+ year old tree and leave the stump...never bothering to ever plant another tree in it's place. Then, they plant grass and water the sh!t out of it every day and wonder why it still turns yellow. They don't seem to grasp the concept that we're basically living in a desert and, with no shade, grass just fries.

The other thing that bugs me is how the city will butcher a massive old growth tree for the sake of a power line. They do a horrible job and, along with all the other stupid "gardening" going on here, it makes the whole city look like a bomb-shelled hell.

Trees are the only thing that make me miss the southeast.

 

Wow. You guys don't see anything wrong with having to ask permission to cut down your own tree in your own yard, that you own? Provided you own it and not a renter that is. This country is supposed to be free, how on earth is it free when you need permission to do something to you own home / land?

 

well, there has to be limits with anything - like, you can't have pool full of sulfuric acid, or alligators, or bonfires of plastic bottles and tires, etc...just because it's on your property. Trees are just as much of an environmental issue.

Trees play a massive role in helping to regulate the earth's atmosphere and temperatures. Because of the humidity in the south, it's harder to realize the amount of heat that's removed by the shade of a trees.

Just recently, I got in an argument with my landlord because he didn't want to plant any new trees in place of the old diseased ones he had removed. He didn't mind buying new trees...but he wanted some that didn't drop leaves, fruit or seeds, or that had roots that would come up over the ground that someone (not him) would have to mow over, or roots that interfered with plumbing, etc...basically, he wanted a tree that doesn't exist. So the solution, to him, is to not plant anything until that perfect tree magically appears. In the meantime, he or his wife occasionally come around and water the weeds that are the only thing that will now survive in that area. Re-****!ng-tarded.

 

Say it isn't so.

 

what dps said

x's eleventy billion

 

he owns the property right? So it's up to him to decide. Not trying to be argumentative, just how I view ownership and freedom.

 

when you own

then you can decide

 

"everything is gonna burn, we'll all take turns, i'll get mine too"

 

go smoke some pot hipster. i hope your blunt catches your long as hippy hair on fire.

 

spot on.....more laws are the damn problem in this country not the solution. People are brainwashed into thinking Big Guvmt will take you from cradle to grave. Are yee daft??

These full-time professional pols that we're all plagued with are the manifestation of a mindset. Namely, that govt needs to be in everyone's lives. It's self-serving on the pols part, and it's their justification for their jobs.

What they really need to do is go to Washington for 4 months, pass their legislation (or not) and go the hell home to real jobs. Perhaps then we'd have leaders that understands the concept of leadership.

 

It's not what you think. Hilton Head prides itself on it's tree's. The sign on the way in says Hilton Head is the "Island of Trees". It was originally developed by a logging company from Ohio, back in the 60s or so, people said enough is enough, you can't keep collecting lumber from here. Mix that in with the protection laws for the Sea Turtles, it was something that had to be done, and it give Hilton Head it's charm. Anyone who has been here knows that this is a unique place, where you drive by a walmart and can't even see it, because of the trees...

And when I bought my home, I signed about 3 pages of docs out of the 250 of them, that explained the tree thing. It's not really meant to prevent home owners from utilizing their own land, it is to prevent irresponsible corporations, like Walmart etc. from using some commercial ownership loop hole to expand their parking lot and cut down a bunch of trees on the 278....

So I signed up for it. It's not like was outside with a chainsaw and the cops rolled up and said, Nah man... Can't do it. I agree with the situation HERE, for very specific reasons. The forest behind my house is beautiful, and I don't want anyone coming through chopping it up....

It's a strange thing, but if you have spent some time here, you understand it. It's part of the island and it's culture, and being the new guy, who am I to have a problem with it. This island has more visual appeal than any of the ones I have ever been to in SC, NC or FL. Because of the mixture of tropical palms, oaks and everything. Spanish Moss hanging everywhere. It's dope for that.

Just felt like I wanted to explain that further. It's not a commie thing. It's a nature thing, and I can respect it to an extent.

They also don't allow companies to use their own signage, hang anything anywhere. That is why my company owns a sign shop. We make every sign for every business on the island, cause they all have to be on grey, sand blaster wood. You cannot use color, lights or anything. It all has to be uniform. And for that, you will never see a golden arche, or a billboard, or a big Taco Bell sign, ANYWHERE. You will see clean, neutral, wooden sandblasted signs.

Why do you think Sandblaster named himself that? To pay homage to all the beautiful signs here =)

 

I hear ya Yank... But with that being said, I "BET" you didn't feel this way jetting around the country, working in the financial industry, now did you? You didn't have a problem working for the evil empire, lining their pockets with money, but you take issue to buying cheap toiletries from Walmart....

I guess my best answer to you is that I pick my battles. If I stood up and fought everytime I disagreed with policies or companies in this country, I would have left here years ago. Honestly, I thought about it. I could be the guy saying, "fu** the banks" and keep my money in a matress. I could say "fu** the insurance industry" and go without coverage. I could say, screw the government, because I don't agree with their current administration and evade my taxes. I could say, ohh, there is so much BS on the news, so I would stop watching it....

Hopefully you can see where I am going with this. But not buying gas from BP could make you sleep better at night, but what kind of vehicle do you drive, and what kind of gas milage do you get? Cause if you think Shell, or whoever you are sucking down all your "petro" from is any better or any more responsible than BP, I would say that you are wrong.

So, I am just saying. I pick my battles. Walmart is NOT one of them. They employ a ton of people in this town alone. They treat the local employees well. They offer quality goods and great prices.

I go to sea world, cause it's fun. I eat at McDonald's cause its cheap and it's good. I wear nike's sometimes despite their sweatshops.

Yankee, do you have an iPhone? Do you wear nikes? I mean, I am not going to go back and forth about who is more noble, but unless you sit down and do a life audit and can come to me with a clean record, saying you don't give money to any irresponsible companies, then I really can't get on board with you there.

So, I hear you about your views. That is cool. Whatever makes you sleep at night. I guess I would just say, I have given up on all the BS that doesn't matter. Cause just for the record.

Your votes in the country don't count. Your efforts against BP are futile. McDonald's doesn't miss your business. The banks are, well, you know what they are, you made them money.

You and I are in different parts of our lives. I look at my money, and the companies I do business with and its a free market. Best products, best prices gets my cash. That leaves me with more money to do what I want and give my family more of the things that they want and don't need.

I bet you didn't feel this way when you were burning up jet fuel, getting into SUVs and zipping around the country working for "the man" and the banks. I bet you never asked your driver where the gas was from.

So, maybe you are in a place in life where taking those person stands means something to you.

I am just saying, I am not going to stop doing business with Walmart because they bought a lot in Dade County. It was an incomplete article that screamed sensationalism....

But trust me, if I ever feel like a company like that is being reckless, I mean, any more reckless than EVERY OTHER COMPANY trading publicly that is of ANY value, then I won't shop there.....

A couple palm trees is NOT the tipping point for me....

I am not trying to tell yall Walmart is so great, I am just saying you guys are going down the slippery slope of hypocrisy, and I am just saying be careful. Check out where your wetsuit was made, where your car was made, what mileage you get, where you hat comes from, where your groceries come from, what airlines you use, what news you watch, what bank you use and all that.....

So, you avoid Walmart for whatever reason, then drive past McDonald's to eat at Burger King, and on the way, you stop at Wells Fargo to get some cash out, and you drive an extra 60 miles to go to the aquarium because you hate seaworld.... Find the hidden message in all that.

Again, often times, my specific opinions get challenged on a larger, fundamental level. I am not trying to preach about how great walmart is. I am saying, you all know this, its supposed to be a free market, and Walmart will have the control of said market for EVER until someone competes with them. And if no one can compete with them, you can't really complain. They fought a battle and they won.

I don't believe in the healthcare system either. Ohh well. More people agree with it than don't I guess, so we move on and stop crying over spilled milk. I am not going to move to Costa Rica because Obama is in office.

Know what I mean? I put my wife and daughter above all other things in this world. And if Walmart benefits them, their needs or comfort trumps ANYTHING else that I care about. I like the environment, I like Bald Eagles... But that's not the point. Doing a disservice to my family, based on some noble notion that I have is wrong on every count to me.

 

I know. I am just saying, I was grandfathered in to the tree thing. Read my other post. It makes sense here. It's not what you think. And yes, we need ethical people in charge of corporations, but WE don't have a vote. Shareholders and boardmembers do...

You are from "This Biz". What is the responsibility of every executive in every PUBLIC company? You know the answer to this. PROFIT... And when you are a publicly traded company, it is unethical to do business in ANY WAY that interferes with profit... Men lose their jobs every day in those positions for not acting with FISCAL responsibility. That is how the structure works. FOR EVERY PUBLIC company, not just Walmart.

If some Walmart exec tried to stand up and fight the Miami thing, and in the end if would have cost sharedholders a few hundred million, that individual is supposed to lose his job.

I can't say I agree with the system, but the public trading system has been around LONG before any of us, so unless you are going to convince our "capitalist" wallstreet society to completely change their structure, what you are saying is a mute point....

Every now and again, you will find a humanitarian or someone in these positions of power that is able to act responsibly, but it is usually in a charitable way, to avoid the loop holes of responsibility.

Bill Gates ONLY job was to make more and more money with Microsoft. You think he kept all the money in the US? Hell no. It's not his job to do that. His job was to make PROFITS.... At the end of the year, if Bill gates wants to do good, he can donate 50 Billion Dollars to charities that he believes in. No corporate laws against that....

Just saying, you know what it is. You were a part of it. You can't hate the entire system that much, because the only answer to it all, is to leave the country. You pay taxes. You buy gas. You bank....

You know what Wall Street Does. You know what it is. Walmart answers to their shareholders, so unless they are all willing to sacrifice their livelyhood over these palm trees, you will never win that battle.

 

For the record, the plant commonly known as Spanish moss is not a moss at all but an epiphitic (air plant) bromeliad, Tillandsia usneoides. Another common bromeliad is the pineapple.

As far as trees and their removal, etc. My town has ordinance against cutting down most trees. Unless it is an invasive species (melaluca, Australian pine) or dead, you need to get a permit (just like a building permit) to cut it down. Usually they require you to mitigate by planting one or more trees elsewhere for every one removed. I agree with this because otherwise folks would just hack and chop them down indiscriminately. Trees provide many benefits, shade, oxygen, wildlife habitat and visual beauty.

When the area where I live in south Florida was developed decades ago they just came in and cut everything down, flattened it and started from scratch. As a result there is very little of the native trees and ecosystems left. Where my house is used to be a pine ridge with slash pines and Serenoa (saw palmetto) somewhat similar to the UM property. There are only one or two small patches of that native vegetation left around. Most of the trees now are exotics that may work well but they really aren't what belong here. Kinda sad.

That said, I used to have a few trees that I didn't want. They were in the wrong place and had been poorly trimmed over the years. When Hurricane Wilma came through I had one of the roving tree guys that are plentiful after those events take them down. The city was not watching and I could skip the permit process. And they came and picked it all up along with the shiploads of other hurricane debris. Believe me, I've planted plenty of other stuff here to make up for the loss of those trees.

Oh yeah, and Walmart sucks. I don't willingly shop there. They are evil and they keep you poor.

 

Yeah, I was told that the "Spanish Moss" is just a foliage parasite. And boy, if it ever touches the ground, don't even get near it. But it look so darn pretty.

 

"Spanish moss" is not a parasite. It does not take anything (nutrients or whatever) from the host tree. It merely uses the tree as a place to hang out. Other than possibly blocking some sunlight it does no harm to its host.

I don't know why you wouldn't want to get near it. It's not toxic. I handle it all the time.