Life is full of tradeoffs: Do we have to give up beautiful trees to have more reliable electricity?

See Ann Arbor Would Like to Report a ‘Massacre’ of Its Trees: Utility company DTE Energy says its trimmers are keeping the power on. That’s not good enough for the canopy-loving residents of Tree Town by Ryan Felton of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"The Delphs (Anita and Ron) are among many Ann Arbor residents who say they are witnessing a defacement of the local landscape. Tree trimmers for DTE Energy have been driving around cutting limbs that appear to be closing in on power lines as part of a long-term effort to reduce outages. 

The result has been an affront to many in Tree Town, as Ann Arbor is affectionately known, leaving many trees looking more like something out of a Dr. Seuss book." 

"Power outages from overgrown limbs have long plagued Metro Detroit. In 2019 DTE launched what it dubbed the “Tree Trim Surge,” and over the next five years it spent over $1 billion on the effort. DTE says its job is to keep the lights on and its work is paying off—last year, Ann Arbor had its best electric reliability service in three decades."

"On a block in the city’s west side, a row of trees had been pruned to more closely resemble a brutal letter V."

"On Nextdoor, residents sparred in a thread about the Delphs’ trees. Some were horrified; others suggested the trimming is a necessary trade-off." 

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