Hookers vs. trees: Who'll win?

Italian authorities, unable to staunch the apparently thriving business of prostitutes along a particular stretch of forest, are going to try a new tactic.  Instead of getting rid of the hookers, they're going to cut down the trees.

As one might imagine, the howls of outrage from environmentalists are loud and clear.

But what to do, the U.K. Guardian reports: "For decades, local law enforcement and politicians have struggled to police the Bonifica del Tronto road, a haven for the sex trade that runs inland for more than 10 miles from the Adriatic coast alongside the river Tronto. Over the years, cameras have been installed, raids mounted, 24-hour patrols implemented and the mayors of towns near the road have signed bylaws imposing fines on prostitutes' clients. All to no avail."

WWF and other environmental groups say the plan would destroy 69 acres of woodland, valuable for its services, too.

Just a different kind.