We all believe that trees add beauty to a community;  that, indeed, San Jose’s downtown has been changed almost as much by the planting of trees as by the construction of buildings. 

And now many of us see trees as soldiers in the fight to preserve our environment. 

But, ironically, trees are also becoming the source of strife as they interact with our society’s development and, especially, with that fight for the environment.

The best example of that irony is the law suit involving trees that block sunlight from reaching newly installed solar panels.  In one case, a court decision ruled in favor of the panels and sited a state law that protects a person’s right to sunlight.

Now State Senator Joe Simitian has authored a bill that would reverse the court decision, giving preference to trees that had been planted before the installation of the panels.  An excellent compromise.

But that’s not the end of what will surely continue to be an ironic struggle between our society’s interest in preserving trees and our need for allowing technology to preserve our environment.