The grating sounds of chainsaws fills my neighborhood.

Maybe it’s South Portland taking down a heritage tree without any notice to the neighborhood, using the same for-profit business that diagnosed the tree to strike the final blow. Maybe the tree stupidly dropped a branch, a major felony.

But no, it’s worse than that. A neighbor across the street is clear cutting a delightful little buffer of trees and shrubs between their house and a neighbor’s. This buffer is a habitat for squirrels, crows and cardinals; a squishy floor for toads and invertebrates; an oasis of peace in the neighborhood; a shady spot to reduce increasing summer heat; a long-standing site for carbon sequestration; a historical reminder of the wetlands that were, sadly, filled in to build new houses in an established neighborhood. Walking by this green space and listening to the leaves ruffle and the birds chirp was a blessing on my morning dog walks.

The newly shorn area that is not only wet but too small to build on would look right at home in a war zone; the destroyer left behind ugly tall stumps and a towering pile of sawdust. Heightening this devastation is the recent removal of a heritage tree directly across the street from this carnage. I used to have a view of trees, waving branches – now all I can see are houses and the very unprofessionally clear-cut area.

No one has any idea why this very minor group of trees has been eliminated. The decision seems random, reckless, unnecessary, arbitrary, uncaring and uneducated about the importance of trees in the fight for the environment. I always assumed this petite stand would never be cut down; there was nothing of value in that tiny clearing, just beauty and clean air.

Another neighbor knocked on my door, tears in her eyes, and asked if I knew why this devastation was happening; why it was even allowed. We have no answers. South Portland has a new, revised tree ordinance but it is weak and took two years from start to finish, which gave developers and uncaring neighbors plenty of time to hysterically cut down many trees.

One homeowner cut down eight huge trees to install a plastic fence and a playscape. When my boys were growing up, the trees were the playscape.  Another neighbor took down several trees that were dropping leaves in the swimming pool. We live a mile from the beach. There are similar tales all over South Portland. I can only sadly surmise that some people just don’t care.

However, I may have an answer for why people desecrate the environment. I recently read a University of Maine research article that suggested evolution will stop humans from cooperating to solve climate change. Apparently, we have evolved in the wrong direction, towards dominating the planet “with tools and systems to exploit natural resources” and our cultural behaviors will cause “environmental competition and conflict … and will work against global solutions.”

I am not surprised to hear this. I am not delighted either. There seems to be no way to encourage some people to care about the environment, climate change, trees, or the known fact that our beloved lawns are another defilement of the Earth.

After successive major weather disasters that have forever altered the coastline of Maine, people should stop doubting climate change and start taking action to prevent an environmental catastrophe. Let’s start by leaving the trees alone.

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