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Killing trees for ads

In case you've run out of reasons to hate advertising, here's one: billboard advertisers are poisoning and chopping down trees that get in the way of people seeing their ads along highways. The latest rash of tree deaths is in North Carolina, where about 50 trees have been killed in the past seven months.

To make matters worse, a bill proposed to combat the practice sets fines at $2,000, even though replacing 50 trees would cost the state over $607,100—over $12,000 per tree!

Scenic America ("an advocacy group that rivals roadside vegetation as billboards' biggest foes") has prepared a factsheet (pdf) on the practice and how to combat it. Check it out.

Reminds me: it's been a while since I've plugged Howard Gossage's awesome How to Look at Billboards essay...