In Asia and much of the Third World…

In Asia and much of the Third World, trees are still destroyed in an old-fashioned way: they are cut down for fuel and cropland. In Europe, there is a new and potentially more deadly culprit. The German call it ‘Waldsterben’, the dying forest syndrome. But the disease is far more than a German phenomenon. Since it was first observed by German scientists in the autumn of 1980, the mysterious malady has raced across Europe, blighting woods in countries as far apart as Sweden and Italy. Explanations for the epidemic range from a cyclic change in the environment to a baffling form of tree cancer. But the most convincing evidence points to air pollution. Indeed, saving the rapidly deteriorating forests of Europe will probably require a two-pronged strategy: an offensive campaign that includes the breeding of pollution-immune trees and a defensive scheme that calls for reductions in toxic emissions. But both will require more money than is currently being spent on such measures, as well as total commitment to protecting the environment.