'Talking' trees help highlight climate perils

Trees in the Australian city of Melbourne are replying to e-mails from the public as authorities seek to highlight the impact of climate change in a country where rising temperatures are expected to outpace global warming worldwide.

The city council initiative, which spotlights each of Melbourne's 77,000 trees on an interactive map, invites visitors to e-mail a tree to report problems such as low-hanging branches or insufficient watering.

But it has had an unexpected outcome, with dozens of Melbournians writing to express affection for their favorite trees.

"Dear Tree, If you are that big, round, beautiful, low-hanging tree, I think you are my favorite tree ... Keep up the good work," wrote one correspondent using only the initial "N."

The quirky e-mails, to which staff respond on behalf of the trees, are building awareness of climate change in Melbourne, regarded as Australia's most European city, thanks to its architecture and wide tree-lined boulevards.

But almost a quarter of its trees, including oaks, elms and planes, are set to die off by the end of the decade, and that figure will rise to almost 40 percent by 2030, speeded by a devastating 13-year drought that started in 2012.

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