The Planters and the Destroyers

As I reported previously, Alsace in France planted a half million trees last year. This is in a rainy part of the world that already has lots of trees. But its residents welcome even more trees, to create shady spots of cool microclimate during the summer, and to remove pollutants from the air. And Alsatians are quite open about their reasons for wanting more trees.

This is in stark contrast to the lone vandal who has recently cruised around Los Angeles on a bicycle and cut down urban trees. One can only speculate on why he did these destructive acts. Who was his enemy? Did he resent the local government for doing something that, he thought, did not directly benefit him? Does he hate Nature and Nature’s God? Does he hate the poor, dark people who live in urban Los Angeles?

Urban trees, on a tree-by-tree basis, have more impact on the world than do trees in a forest, because urban areas (in Los Angeles, or Alsace, or anywhere else) are often devoid of trees. Each tree absorbs pollution, and transpires water vapor which creates little islands of coolness (what the French call îlots de fraîcheur). In a concrete jungle of buzzing air conditioners, urban trees might be the only positive points on the landscape.

More generally, the French value long-term investments in the quality of life as being worthwhile, but many Americans are cynical about a future that contains poor people whom they do not like.

Among the investments in the quality of life in France are days of complete vacation. I am writing this on May Day, which is the French Labor Day. On American holidays, lots of stores remain open. But the French are serious about their holidays (journées feriées). On this particular holiday, even the trams do not run. This is in addition to the fact that most French businesses close on Sunday. May Day is a day for protests in favor of further social improvements, and for spending time with family.

I Love Living in Alsace, A Socialist Paradise

 

I now live in the CeA (Collectivité européene d’Alsace), near Strasbourg in eastern France, just over the Rhine River from Germany. This region, like the whole country, is heavily socialist, which means that taxes are high and life is good. The Alsatian government spends a lot of money on things that make life better for people, including me.

Examples of government spending that makes life better for everyone:

• In 2024, Alsace spent 14.5 million euros on children (enfants);
• In 2024, they spent 28.3 million euros on seniors (aînés);
• In 2024, they planted 500,000 trees including at schools and creating cool, green zones (islands of freshness, or îlots de fraîcheur), which has health benefits and reduces the amount of air conditioning.
• In 2024, they installed 24,000 square meters of new solar cells (panneaux photovoltaïques). They spend a lot of money on energy conservation.
• Right here in the ville d’Hœnheim where I live, they just built a new school building, for 23.4 million euros.
• Every year they add more pedestrian and biking paths, which increase health and reduce the use of cars. As a result, despite high population density, the traffic jams are fewer and smaller than in most American cities.
• They even spend money on bilingual education, which includes, in Alsace, the Alsatian language (which is similar to but not the same as German).

However, these expenditures result in savings over time. The new solar panels will save 3.9 million euros a year, each year, after being installed. The new school building I mentioned above, which cost 23.4 million euros, generates more energy than it consumes.

The French government spends a lot of money to guarantee a minimum income for every citizen (which does not include me). The revenu de Solidarité active (rSa) is a French social welfare benefit that supplements the income of a person who is destitute or has few resources, in order to guarantee a minimum income. Poor people in France do not get project housing built for them; they get supplemental income with which to pay rent to private landlords, who are limited in the amount of rent they can charge.

There is one major difference between French rSa and American welfare. Recipients are required to work as part of their “insertion” into society and the economy. American conservatives starting with Richard Nixon used to call this “workfare” and promoted it, though it does not often occur in America. Well, it happens in France. As a result of expenditure on insertion, the government has reduced its rSa payments by 15 percent.

A lot of the work that needs to be done comes from volunteers. Nine thousand volunteers (bénévoles) collected 70 tonnes of garbage last year in Alsace. In contrast, in Durant, Oklahoma, where I used to live, once a year volunteers would gather for the “Trash-off” and clean up a few blocks, leaving many tons of garbage behind. I think that the retired teachers who run the French language class that I attend are also volunteers. That is, in France, as the Alsace website says, « L’état demande aux collectivités de plus en plus de dépenses sans les compenser » (The state asks communities to make more and more expenditures without compensation.)

Everywhere you look, you can hardly help but see sustainability and preparation for the future. While we were driving through the countryside on our way to visit a castle in the mountains, my son-in-law pointed to a big plastic tarp over a mound in a field. It was a mound of decomposing vegetation. The mulch released methane which is collected by pipes to supplement the natural gas supply (biogaz). As I told him, I think the technology was developed in America, but it is actually being used in France. In America, biogas is not worth it; all you have to do is frack some more. In contrast, in France, fracking is illegal.

France is not really a socialist paradise. I just wanted to get your attention. But it comes pretty close, in terms of environment and education.