Some of the oldest living things in the world are trees. Unhindered, certain types of trees will just keep on growing, swallowing up whatever obstacles happen to be in their expanding radius. Big trees are tough dudes, and once they get to be a certain size it's hard to find something that can kill them.

Unless, of course, you count people. Humans, with our clever machinery and thirst for expansion, have gotten very good at killing trees--even those who have been around for thousands of years. California is home to some of the nation's oldest and most beautiful trees. We've all seen the photos of these redwoods--you know, the ones so big you can drive your car through their trunks. They grow in protected parks so people can enjoy them for hundreds of years to come. But now, the California Department of Transportation wants to destroy some of the redwood forest in order to expand Highway 101.

The goal of the proposed highway expansion would be to allow more large commercial trucks to use the road, which winds through Richardson Grove State Park. The park's redwood forest stands as one of the last sites of old redwood tree growth. Over the past two hundred years, California's redwood forest has been gradually destroyed due to the logging and agricultural industries. Only 39,000 acres of the original 2 million are protected in state and national parks. These aren't renewable trees, either, unless we want to wait another two thousand years for them to grow back. The irreplaceable old growth is essential to the state's natural landscape.

Thousands of Californians--even local truckers--have made their opposition to the highway widening plan clear. A number of environmental protection organizations are actively challenging the motion. An online petition has garnered close to 12,000 signatures so far. You can sign now too to show your support for redwood preservation in California. We don't have too many of these ancient trees left in the world; let's not go around killing off the rest of them.