Vancouver trees get crushed on West 11th Avenue

Property owners can always cite plenty of reasons to remove trees in front of buildings.

They can get blown down in storms, causing problems with power lines.

Bushy trees also provide good cover for thieves looking to break into apartments.

Sometimes, the roots of trees interfere with a building's plumbing system. 

And if the brush is thick enough, it can provide an ideal denning spot for coyotes.

Nevertheless, I was saddened this morning to see several trees being removed from the front of an apartment building near the northwest corner of West 11th Avenue and Pine Street.

Right in front of my eyes, they were being crushed into tiny twigs.

It probably takes place on a regular basis all over the city.

I thought of the recent climate talks in Paris, where there was so much focus on retaining carbon sinks. Where there are more trees, there's more absorption of carbon dioxide.

I recalled that in the last civic election campaign, Vision Vancouver promised to plant 150,000 trees by 2020.

It made me wonder how many of those new Vision Vancouver trees will simply replace other trees that have been cut down by owners of private property.