Yesterday, I came across some saddening news. Apparently the
French are being forced to chop down all of the beautiful trees that line the famous,
quintessentially French, Canal du Midi. These trees go hand in hand French
waterways, offering shade during the day and a truly atmospheric light at dusk.
Photo by Yishac - Isaac Alvarez i Brugada on Flickr
The 200 year old trees are suffering from a fungal
infection, which was introduced into France by the contaminated wood of ammunition
boxes by American GIs during World War II. There is no way to prevent this
fungal disease from spreading, which leaves the French authorities only one
option: to chop them down and burn them.
The Canal du Midi is a Unesco World Heritage site status
which it could potentially lose (though hopefully it won't) if all the trees
are destroyed.
However, the French will be re-planting trees from the end
of the year...but they estimate that it will take between 30-40 years to replant
along the entire length of the beautiful 200km waterway.
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