The Economist - USA (2019-12-21)

TheEconomistDecember 21st 2019 101

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henightofthefire,myfathercalledustothetopofthedrive-
waytowatchthesmokeplumeabovetheeucalyptusforest.He
warnedusthattheflameswerehardlya mileaway.Butmysiblings
andI couldn’tseethemsowedidn’treallycare.Weweretoobusy
playingonournewfrontlawn,laughingasashfromtheburning
treestumbledontothewindshieldofourmother’sChryslermini-
van.Theburntflakesfellwhitelikea snowwehadneverseenbe-
foreinCalifornia.
Withinweeks,myfatherhadchoppeddownalltheeucalyptus
treesinourfrontyard.Hesurroundedourhome—a3,549-square
foot,five-bed,four-bathwonderboastinga Spanish-styleterra-
cottaroof—witha moatoffire-retardantsucculentsandyucca.For
a manlikemyfather,whogrewupina smalltracthomenearby,
anda womanlikemymother,whohademigratedfromSouthKo-
reawhengdpperpersonwaslessthan$200a year,thishousewas
a dream.Andfora fewyearsintheearly1990smyparentslivedit.
Theyhosteddinnerpartieswithfondueandsushi.MyKorean
grandmother,wholivedwithus,wowedtheladiesfromchurch
with bowls ofbibimbap andsitting-roomprayersessionsthat
lastedsolongI usedtothinkevenJesusmusthavetiredofthem.

Butin1996 thatended.Wefelloutofthemiddleclass.

TheCaliforniaofglossydreamsistheCaliforniaof

palmtreesreflectedinRay-Bans—tall,slender,glam-

orousandheadingrightupintothesky.TheCalifornia

oftheenlightenedspiritistheCaliforniaofmajestic

sequoiasintheSierras,sentinelsolderthanhistory,

iconsoftheenvironment.TherealCalifornia,though,

theCaliforniaofimmigrantdreamsthatbreakandget

reborn,oflivesastheyturnoutnotastheyareplanned,

istheCaliforniaoftheeucalyptus.

In1904,nearly 90 yearsbeforeweplayedunderan

orange-glazedskyonthenightofthatfire,a manar-

rivedinthetownwhereI grewup,Nipomo,witha plan

tomakea fortunebyimprovingtheworld.Theodore

Lukens,twicemayor ofPasadena,travelledthe 170

miles(280km)upthecoastfromLosAngelesCountyto

seeif a stretchoflandnotfarfromwhereourhouselat-

erstoodmightbea suitableplacetoplanta lotoftrees.

LikehisfriendJohnMuir,LukensbelievedthatCali-

fornia desperately needed more forests. Since the

mid-19thcenturyforests,andtheirloss,hadbeenthe

principalfocusofconservationistthoughtinAmerica.

AccordingtoJaredFarmer,whotracesthehistoryofthe

eucalyptusinCaliforniain“TreesinParadise”(2013),

Animmigrant

story

EucalyptusRoad Whathappenswhena dreamfalters

The author, a Californian transplanted to London, works on
The Economist’s news desk

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