Hillary Clinton Urges Tree Planting to Celebrate Millennium

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton urged Americans to celebrate the coming millennium by planting 250 million trees and 1 million gardens over the next two years.

“All over Washington, D.C., and indeed all over the country, we are seeing forests and trees and green open spaces disappear right before our eyes,” Clinton said this week in an event at the Agriculture Department, where an approximately 65-year-old white oak tree was dedicated in her name.

“This is not something we have to learn to live with,” she said. “This is a trend we can reverse.”

One key goal of the “Millennium Green” campaign, which will rely heavily on private sector contributions, is to restore green to urban areas, such as the nation’s capital.

Back in 1973, a heavy tree canopy covered more than one-third of the District of Columbia. Now that figure is just 13%, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said.

In other urban areas, canopy cover has fallen to less than 20%, from more than 40% previously.

“Trees are much more than decorative ornaments. As a society, we must begin to see them as part of our national green infrastructure, as important to the health and prosperity of the nations as our roads, bridges and ports,” Glickman said.

Not only do trees take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, they keep pollutants out of streams and act as natural coolants, which reduces the need for air conditioning, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said.

To reach the goal of 250 million new trees--about one for every American--the first lady helped plant a flowering cherry tree on the lawn of the Agriculture Department, which is not far from the Washington Monument.

The tree, known as a “Dream Catcher,” was developed by scientists at the National Arboretum in Washington to have a high tolerance to insects and diseases.

Clinton is only the 10th person or organization in 33 years to be honored with a tree on the department’s grounds. Others include civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and U.S. Forest Service mascot Smokey Bear.

The Millennium Green project is being led by the Agriculture Department, with assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Justice and Energy.

The Agriculture Department is donating 100 trees to each of the 50 states and the District of Colombia to create “Millennial Groves” in capital cities across the America.

The saplings will be descendants of famous and historical trees.