I Pledged $1 Million to Plant New Trees. My Money Could Have Been Better Spent.

I asked the Forest Service to guarantee that the saplings planted using my money would not grow up only to be logged later by the timber companies. The agency declined. But overcome, I suppose, by pie-in-the-sky do-gooderism, I pledged the money anyway.

Over the next few years, over 650,000 trees were planted. Today, with a balance of over $250,000 remaining, we’re on track to exceed the target of one million trees.

I should be happy, right? I wish I was. A subsequent event made me reconsider my decision. Read more

Roger Worthington is a plaintiffs’ asbestos lawyer and the owner of Worthy Brewing in Bend, Ore.