Remember Andrew “Jungle Bird” Dudley when he crashed the U.S. Open golf tournament in June? He’s back! This time scoring a touch down against KFC during the Norte Dame vs. Navy game at the Emerald Isle Classic in Dublin, Ireland, performing a victory dance before being taken away. If you’re not familiar with his shtick, it’s a wearing a Union Jack knitted hat and crying out like a jungle bird to draw attention to deforestation around the world.
Until Jungle Bird came along, I had no real interest in deforestation. With the cutting down of 400 mature trees for the space shuttle parade in Los Angeles, I’m starting to get interested in urban deforestation. Without trees to absorb the sunlight and provide cool shade, sidewalks and buildings retain the daytime heat that makes the surrounding environment hotter than it should be at night. As a child growing up in the 1970’s, I remember planting trees every year as part of an Arbor Day class activity. We need to preserve and grow the trees in the concrete canyons of our cities.
