Free Republic

Iconic red cedars — known as the “Tree of Life” — in the Pacific Northwest have been dying because of climate-induced drought. Deep inside a forest in Oregon’s Willamette Valley stands a dead “Tree of Life.” Its foliage, normally soft and green, is tough and brown or missing altogether. Nonetheless, the tree’s reddish bark, swooping branches and thick, conical base identify it as the Pacific Northwest’s iconic western red cedar. The rings become thinner over time, indicating the tree’s growth slowed before the tree finally died, a sign that this red cedar died from drought. “That’s why it’s the canary,”...

On the day leading up to the final rally of Donald Trump’s “thank you” tour, city officials in Mobile, Ala., raved about its plans for a festive, Christmas welcome for the president-elect. The mayor’s chief of staff tweeted that the city “did the impossible,” erecting and decorating a 50-foot Christmas tree as a backdrop for Trump’s speech. But some Mobile residents soon speculated that the majestic cedar tree was one they had seen before, AL.com reported. Just over a mile away from the stadium where Trump would speak, in a public park, a massive cedar tree was gone. As skeptical...