Gerald Jacobs

If a tree burns in a swamp, does anyone care?

By Gerald Jacobs — University of Manitoba (CUP) Image by: Christopher Elliott This year, one of the oldest living organisms in the world caught fire and burned to death. “The Senator” was the nickname given to a cypress tree that had been living in a Florida swamp for the last 3,500 years. It was 38.1 metres tall, and had a girth as wide as two men’s full arms’ lengths. Until that day, it had been considered the fifth oldest tree in the world, and the largest tree of its kind in North America. Reactions to the event seem to have…

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