Well the Missus and I took a post-prandial promenade yesterday from Foolish Corner to St. Mary’s and we saw a whole bunch of these signs planted next to the trees on Beacon Street.

Go to that url and you land on the website of a group called Mothers Out Front, which plants this argument.

Gas Leaks and Ghost Tree Tagging

Did you see one of these Ghost Tree signs on the sidewalk in Brookline?

The Problem:

• These signs and stencils mark the more than 400 sites in Brookline where a tree has been killed or damaged by underground natural gas leaks.

• Arborists found that Brookline has lost over $1 million worth of trees to these leaks.

• The methane gas in these leaks, is a potent contributor to climate change and human health impacts.

• National Grid is responsible for the leaks, but they have no mandate or incentive to fix them unless there is a risk of explosion.

• You are paying for the leaked natural gas. National Grid is permitted by law to charge you for the losses in its system.

According to the site, the local Mothers Out Front chapter is headed by two area social-justice advocates – Janet Groat and Betsy Ericksen. We couldn’t find any evidence of a corporate entity they might be out front of, but that’s always a possibility in this day and age.

There’s a whole bunch of other material at the site, though, so we’ll make like a tree and leave you to your own conclusions.