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Arborists are turning vacant land on Detroit’s eastside into a small urban forest, not of elms, oaks and red maples indigenous to the city but giant sequoias, the world’s largest trees that can live for thousands of years. The project on four lots will not only replace long-standing blight with majestic trees, but could also improve air quality and help preserve the trees that are native to Californias Sierra Nevada, where they are threatened by ever-hotter wildfires. Detroit is the pilot city for the Giant Sequoia Filter Forest. The nonprofit Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is donating dozens of sequoia saplings that will be planted by staff and volunteers from Arboretum Detroit, another nonprofit, to mark Earth Day on April 22. Co-founder David Milarch says Archangel also plans to plant sequoias in Los Angeles, Oakland, California, and London. What are giant sequoias? The massive conifers can grow to more than 300 feet (90 meters) tall with a more than 30-foot (9-meter) circumference at the base. They can live for more than 3,000 years. Heres a tree that is bigger than your house when its mature, taller than your buildings, and lives longer than you can comprehend, said Andrew Birch Kemp, Arboretum Detroit’s executive director. The sequoias will eventually provide a full canopy that protects everything beneath, he said. It may be sad to call these .5- and 1-acre treescapes forests, Kemp said. We are expanding on this and shading our neighborhood in the only way possible, planting lots of trees. Giant sequoias are resilient against disease and insects, and are usually well-adapted to fire. Thick bark protects their trunks and their canopies tend to be too high for flames to reach. But climate change is making the big trees more vulnerable to wildfires out West, Kemp said. The fires are getting so hot that its even threatening them, he said. Descendants of Stagg and Waterfall Archangel, based in Copemish, Michigan, preserves the genetics of old-growth trees for research and reforestation. The sequoia saplings destined for Detroit are clones of two giants known as Stagg the world’s fifth-largest tree and Waterfall, of the Alder Creek grove, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Los Angeles. In 2010, Archangel began gathering cones and climbers scaled high into the trees to gather new-growth clippings from which they were able to develop and grow saplings. A decade later, a wildfire burned through the grove. Waterfall was destroyed but Stagg survived. They will both live on in the Motor City. Why Detroit? Sequoias need space, and metropolitan Detroit has plenty of it. In the 1950s, 1.8 million people called Detroit home, but the city’s population has since shrunk to about one-third of that number. Tens of thousands of homes were left empty and neglected. While the city has demolished at least 24,000 vacant structures since it emerged from bankruptcy in 2014, thousands of empty lots remain. Kemp estimates that only about 10-15% of the original houses remain in the neighborhood where the sequoias will grow. Theres not another urban area I know of that has the kind of potential that we do to reforest,” he said. We could all live in shady, fresh air beauty. It’s like no reason we cant be the greenest city in the world. Within the last decade, 11 sequoias were planted on vacant lots owned by Arboretum Detroit and nine others were planted on private properties around the neighborhood. Each now reaches 12 to 15 feet (3.6 to 4.5 meters) tall. Arboretum Detroit has another 200 in its nursery. Kemp believes the trees will thrive in Detroit. Theyre safer here … we dont have wildfires like (California). The soil stays pretty moist, even in the summer, he said. They like to have that winter irrigation, so when the snow melts they can get a good drink. How will the sequoias impact Detroit? Caring for the sequoias will fall to future generations, so Milarch has instigated what he calls tree school to teach Detroits youth how and why to look after the new trees. We empower our kids to teach them how to do this and give them the materials and the way to do this themselves, Milarch said. They take ownership. They grow them in the classrooms and plant them around the schools. They know were in environmental trouble. Some of them may never have even walked in a forest, Kemp said. How can we expect children who have never seen a forest to care about deforestation on the other side of the world?” Kemp said. “It is our responsibility to offer them their birthright. City residents are exposed to extreme air pollution and have high rates of asthma. The Detroit sequoias will grow near a heavily industrial area, a former incinerator and two interstates, he said. Kemps nonprofit has already planted about 650 trees comprising around 80 species in some 40 lots in the area. But he believes the sequoias will have the greatest impact. Because these trees grow so fast, so large and theyre evergreen theyll do amazing work filtering the air here, Kemp said. We live in pretty much a pollution hot spot. Were trying to combat that. Were trying to breathe clean air. Were trying to create shade. Were trying to soak up the stormwater, and I think sequoias among all the trees we plant may be the strongest, best candidates for that. Corey Williams, Associated Press
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Tesla investors are anxious to know if plans to roll out a cheaper car and a robotaxi service this year are on track, and whether CEO Elon Musk is ready to ditch his role in the Trump administration soon and get back to managing the company more closely. The electric vehicle maker is scheduled after market close on Tuesday to provide what is likely to be its most important update on operations since the launch of its Model 3 vehicle in 2017. Tesla said earlier this month that it would “hold a live company update” along with its results and the question and answer webcast, sparking speculation on social media that it might make a major announcement. Analysts are expecting a bad first quarter, based on recent indicators. Deliveries in the January-March period slid 13%, as the company lost ground to Chinese rivals, and Musk’s political actions as a close adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump have damaged the brand. Tesla has faced protests, vandalism, and consumer calls for boycotts in several markets, and sales in China and California its largest U.S. market have fallen sharply as well. Some investors have taken a more sour view of the one-time Wall Street darling. The company’s stock, which closed at $227.42 on Monday, has nearly halved from its December peak. Tesla’s key automotive gross margin, excluding regulatory credits, likely fell to 11.8% in the period, according to 21 analysts polled by Visible Alpha, down from 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Analysts expect the downward trend to continue if Tesla continues to prioritize volume growth over profitability. Tesla comes into results as arguably the most scrutinized company in the world,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. “Thats not really a position investors want to be in, and therell be a lot of focus on whether Elon Musk gives any indication of when he might be stepping back from DOGE,” said Britzman, who personally holds Tesla stock. DOGE is short for the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. The EV maker scrapped plans for a brand-new, low-cost model last year, opting instead to produce cheaper variants using existing platforms and assembly lines. Reuters reported exclusively on Friday that Tesla delayed plans to start production of a more affordable Model Y crossover by at least a few months. Musk promised driverless ride-hailing services to the public in Texas by June, and in California for later this year. To that end, Tesla has been seeking regulatory approvals, but there are serious concerns about safety and related litigation risks that could come with deploying unproven driverless technology on public streets. Analysts expect a second straight annual decline in Tesla deliveries in 2025, despite efforts to boost sales through incentives like free charging and Full Self-Driving features. Revenue was likely flat from a year ago at $21.35 billion, supported by gains in regulatory credits and growth in Teslas energy storage business. Tesla also recalled all Cybertrucks delivered since late 2023 and launched a lower-priced $70,000 version of the vehicle. It has been discounting unsold inventory of the electric pickup truck in recent weeks. Tariff tensions add further uncertainty. Tesla has paused some China-sourced component imports after U.S. tariffs on the Asian country rose to 145%, Reuters reported. China has responded with tariffs of its own, leading Tesla to suspend new Model S and X orders in the country. Akash Sriram and Abhirup Roy, Reuters
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Bottles and bags, food wrappers and straws. Piping, packaging, toys and trays. Plastic is everywhere and yet some people may be surprised at how much they actually wear.A typical closet is loaded with plastic, woven into polyester activewear, acrylic sweaters, nylon swimsuits and stretchy socks and it’s shedding into the environment nonstop.When garments are worn, washed and put through the dryer, they shed plastic fiber fragments. A single load of laundry can release millions that are so tiny wastewater treatment plants can’t capture them all. They wind up in local waterways that connect to the ocean. Marine animals eat them, and that can pass plastic to larger animals and humans.Even natural fabrics shed fibers and have chemicals that can leach into the environment. But polyester is the most widely used fiber on Earth, and along with other synthetic fibers accounts for about two-thirds of production worldwide.Tuesday is Earth Day, when people worldwide contemplate ways to reduce their impact on the planet.“Everyone who wears and launders clothing is part of this problem but everyone who wears and launders clothing can be part of the solutions,” said Rachael Z. Miller, founder of Vermont-based Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean.Simple changes like washing clothes less and using cold water instead of hot can help reduce the shedding of fibers. More challenging is that textiles need to be produced and used in a more sustainable way, said Elisa Tonda at the UN Environment Programme. For example, designing clothes that shed fewer microfibers and are high-quality to last longer, said Tonda, who leads the resources and markets branch. What to do? Start by changing habits The easiest solution is to wash clothes less often, making for less of the friction that breaks fibers apart, said Anja Brandon, director of plastics policy at Ocean Conservancy.“They get tumbled and tossed around with a bunch of soaps, really designed to shake things up to get out dirt and stains,” Brandon said.Miller uses a stain stick to spot-clean. Both say that when clothes are washed, they shed less when put in cold water in full loads to reduce friction, on a shorter cycle, then hung to dry.Inspired by the way coral filters the ocean, Miller invented the Cora Ball, a laundry ball that can be tossed into the washer to cut down on clothes banging into each other. It also catches microfibers. (A portion of the proceeds goes to the Rozalia Project.) Another option is to put synthetic fabrics in a washing bag that captures fibers.Which clothes shed the most? To find out, press a strip of clear packing tape to a garment, then stick it to white paper to check for fibers, Miller said. Garments that are loosely knit or woven tend to shed more, such as fleece.Miller said people don’t need to rush to throw out clothing that’s more likely to shed. She owns fleece jackets herself. Instead, she suggested such clothing can be worn indoors only or outside with a layer on top, and it’s worth thinking twice about acquiring more garments like that.“I try not to guilt or panic people because a lot of this information is very new,” Miller said. “And so we might as well just say, ‘OK, I got it. How can I be strategic about what I’ve got?'” A push to require filters Filters can be added to washers to capture microfibers. Samsung Electronics collaborated with Patagonia and the global conservation organization Ocean Wise to launch one in 2023. It’s now sold in more than 20 countries for front-load washers. Bosch recently launched a microfiber filter in Europe for washers.France was first to adopt a law to mandate that new washing machines sold in the country have a microfiber filter, though implementation has been delayed.In the U.S., efforts to mandate filters in states have failed. California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill in 2023, saying he was concerned about the cost to consumers and he wants to incentivize, not mandate, technologies to remove microfibers in wastewater. In Oregon, state Sen. Deb Patterson proposed a bill this year requiring microfiber filters on new washers sold in that state after she came across the technology in Canada. Patterson said the bill doesn’t have enough support yet but she’ll keep trying.The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers opposes the proposals, saying it’s concerned about consumer costs and filter effectiveness. Changing textiles Some big brands are testing their fabrics to help researchers understand fiber fragmentation, including Adidas, Nike, Patagonia and Under Armour.They’re among more than 90 brands, retailers and manufacturers to partner with The Microfibre Consortium in the United Kingdom, founded in 2018 to do research and offer solutions to transform textile production including reducing fiber breakup.Nearly 1,500 fabrics have been tested. None are the same, making it a tough problem to solve, consortium CEO Kelly Sheridan said.Patagonia has been a leader in trying to stop the spread of synthetic fiber waste into air and water, saying it’s up to garment brands to prevent it at the source since cleaning up microplastics in the environment is not yet possible.It paid for its own research starting a decade ago on the implication of its clothes. The company worked with suppliers to choose fabrics and dyes and to finish their clothing in ways that reduce shedding. They collaborated on new filtration technologies for washers, textile mills and municipal systems.One of their best-known styles is something called the “better sweater” that shifts from virgin polyester to recycled polyester to cut shedding by about 40%, said Matt Dwyer, vice president of global product footprint. And at textile mills, there’s a prewash at the factory that can capture that first big shed, he added.Dwyer is optimistic about progress.“There’s a whole lot of smart people, not just understanding the problem and the scope of the problem, but also looking for solutions all the way through the manufacturing cycle and use phase,” he said. “Compared to 10 years ago, it’s a whole new world.” Jennifer McDermott, Associated Press The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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