American Express today announced the launch of the American Express Root For Our City Challenge, an initiative to help make eight U.S. cities cleaner, greener and more beautiful. The company is committing $1 million toward tree planting projects and is encouraging the local communities to participate in helping their city secure the largest portion of the grant money.

The American Express Root For Our City Challenge is part of the company’s commitment to community improvement and the environment. Cardmembers may vote for their city with each purchase at a participating merchant in the eight cities, which include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C. At the conclusion of the American Express Root For Our City Challenge on October 31, 2008, the city with the most votes from purchases by Cardmembers at participating merchants will receive the largest share of the $1 million grant.

“Trees make a huge difference in our cities. They help to offset carbon emissions, beautify an area and create a positive impact on the local economy,” said Kathy King, vice president of marketplace development, American Express Merchant Services. “Our goal with the Root For Our City Challenge is to engage people across the nation in a collaborative effort to help green the urban settings in which they live and work.”

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The painting is by Nancy Merkle

Lagos: From ‘Ghetto’ to Garden City

The administration of Governor Babatunde Fashola has many ambitious dreams. One of the latest of such daring dreams of a government that has barely spent two years is to transformthe state from a massive concrete ghetto to a garden state.
To actualize the tall dream of greening and reducing the high rate of carbon in the atmosphere, the Lagos State Government has embarked upon an aggressive tree planting campaign which would lead to the planting of no fewer than one million trees in the state within the next ten years.

The tree planting campaign was flagged off by Governor Fashola last week, precisely September 2, 2008 along Ikorodu road in the heart of Lagos. Fashola said the campaign is to be carried out by the State Government in conjunction with corporate bodies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local governments and other stakeholders in the society.

The State commissioner for Environment, Dr. Muiz Adeyemi Banire revealed that no fewer than 250,000 trees are to be planted within the first three months of the campaign. Of this figure, the State Government is expected to contribute about 10, 000 plant seedlings..

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The painting is by Laura Tasheiko

Arborists Catalogue Tree Details To Measure Their Impact On A City

Arborists and volunteers are combing the streets of Baltimore and other cities, counting trees and gathering information about them. The information they compile will be entered into a computer and analyzed by software that projects how much the trees improve air quality, conserve energy, control storm water, and affect property values.

Trees add beauty to cities and neighborhoods, plus they help the environment. But some areas are short on tree coverage, and many cities don’t have an accurate tree count. Now, there is a new way volunteers are helping cities track trees.

Terry and Debra Shepard are hitting the streets to check on trees. A volunteer task they love doing.

“We were looking around for worthwhile things to do to contribute to the city and this looked like a good one,” Terry said.

Volunteers are tracking trees in Baltimore to help boost the city’s trees count. Currently only 20 percent of the city is covered by trees -- a number arborists want to improve.

“So, we want to increase it to 40 percent,” Rebecca Feldberg, an arborist in Baltimore said.

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A forest within a City

"Amidst the teeming millions and cacophony of traffic of Delhi, stands a tranquil, dense forest popularly known as the "green lung" of the capital - the Delhi Ridge. Delhi has the distinction of being one of the few metros in the world that possesses a city forest. An extension of the Aravalli hill range, the Ridge forest spreads over almost 7,800 hectares. Surprisingly, this forest is not entirely "natural", with extensive plantations having taken place since 1847. Today, the Ridge is a mix of native and exotic plants, but still retains its semi-arid scrub vegetation characteristics. Up until the early part of the last century, animals like the Blackbuck, Nilgai and Chinkara roamed this scrub jungle. Rapid urbanisation and habitat degradation have taken their toll and over the years the Ridge has lost most of its big mammal population, with only the occasional hare or jackal still left. The area, however, still remains a birdwatchers' paradise, with almost 200 species being reported. The Ridge performs several ecological functions for Delhi. It acts as a giant sponge to air pollutants, and as an air-conditioner. So effective is this that one can feel a perceptible drop in temperature even while passing by it at the peak of Delhi's summer. The Ridge is also a live laboratory, and has inspired and nurtured many aspiring naturalists by teaching them the rudiments of ecology."

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Bangalore - The Garden City

"Blessed with salubrious climate, fertile soil and copious rainfall, Bangalore has a rich heritage of spacious gardens, parks, tree-lined avenues and a multitude of flowering trees interspersed with canopy trees. One can see spectacular flowers in bloom throughout the year and each season is resplendent with a variety of flowers, multi-hued and fragrant, weaving patterns with lush foliage. This green legacy has earned for Bangalore the sobriquet "garden city"."
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