<table> </table> Pursuing a greener lifestyle can sometimes feel punitive. Like the Ten Commandments, the &#8220;don&#8217;ts&#8221; seem to outnumber the &#8220;do&#8217;s.&#8221; No fun, right?</p><p>You shall not use plastic bottles. You shall not drive so fast. You shall not commit your thermostat to comfortable temperatures.</p><p>So, instead, this installment of FYI&#8217;s Greener Living series is one big do: Plant trees.</p><p>The benefits are practically incalculable. Actually, said Helene Miller, Missouri Conservation Department urban forester, a study of the 415,000 trees along Kansas City&#8217;s streets valued their benefits to the community at $51 million.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s just the street trees, and that&#8217;s every year,&#8221; said Miller with the Discovery Center in Kansas City.</p><p>Trees are environmental workhorses.</p><p>They intercept storm water, reducing the need to tame it in more expensive ways, and filter dust and air pollution. Their shade even makes asphalt streets last longer.</p><p>Trees also shade homes and other buildings, of course, reducing energy use, which saves resources and in turn lowers power plant emissions. Trees provide habitat that allows birds and other wildlife to thrive.</p><p>But some trees are &#8220;greener&#8221; than others, particularly in our urban and suburban settings. How&#8217;s that?</p><p>Tree-planting is greenest when the types of trees chosen are those likely to grow to maturity without sucking up extra resources in the process, said Kim Bomberger, forester with the Kansas Forest Service.</p><p>Trees have a lot to contend with around here.</p><p>The soil around our homes isn&#8217;t usually ideal, sometimes because of poor practices by developers and also because of high clay content. Then there are 100-degree heat, zero-degree cold, wind storms and extended dry spells.</p><p>Dennis Patton, horticulturist with Johnson County Kansas State Research and Extension, recommends asking three questions when picking &#8220;greener&#8221; trees to plant.</p><p>&#8226;<strong>Is it disease- and insect-resistant? </strong>As much as you might like a Scotch or Austrian pine in your yard, for instance, those trees are in decline or dying across the metropolitan area. You want a tree that will grow to maturity and one that doesn&#8217;t need lots of chemical intervention.</p><p>&#8226;<strong>Is it durable? </strong>Softer-wooded trees often drop small branches and can lose bigger limbs in storms, requiring cleanup and disposal. They may grow faster, but the benefits are quickly lost to wind damage.</p><p>&#8226;<strong>Is it drought-tolerant? </strong>Young trees need watering, but established trees should require little or no supplemental irrigation.</p><p>But remember &#8230;</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s no perfect tree,&#8221; Patton said. &#8220;Every tree has some quirky thing about it.&#8221;</p><p>Another green consideration: What role will the tree play in the yard?</p><p>Some smaller trees are placed near the house or with other plantings to pretty up the place, which adds value to property. But homeowners also can place trees for environmental duties.</p><p>&#8226;<strong>To generate shade:</strong> Plant large deciduous trees on the west side of the house, from 20 feet to 25 feet from the building. Farther away and you&#8217;ll lose the canopy effect that protects against summer heat.</p><p>&#8226;<strong>To screen the wind: </strong>Plant trees as a windbreak to protect glass doors and other parts of the house exposed to cold winds. Winter heating bills can be cut by 10 percent or more.</p><p>As great as trees are, many scientists and other environmental experts are fed up with the idea that planting trees, which store carbon, &#8220;offsets&#8221; the profligate consumption of resources.