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Chat Room Chat Room
The biggest trees on Earth are just a three-hour drive southeast of San Francisco, in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Giant sequoia redwoods are in fact the biggest living things on the planet, and very nearly the oldest as well. Lifespans of 2,000 years are common; the most ancient specimen is 3,300 years old. Now, Big Trees State Park is threatened by clear-cutting on its borders. Mark Hertsgaard is internationally respected for his book, Earth Odyssey, (Broadway Books, 1998) which chronicled his seven-year global tour to answer the question: Will the human species survive the next hundred years? He has also written hundreds of articles on a wide variety of environmental topics. One of his most recent takes a look at clear-cutting, a logging practice that involves felling every tree on a given plot of land, scraping the land bare, spraying it with herbicides and replanting it as a tree plantation. Timber industry officials say that clear-cutting makes for healthier, more productive forests.What might be the impact of the proposed clear-cutting near the ancient sequoias? Check out: www.salon.com for Mark's article "The California Chainsaw Massacre". Click on News, then search "chainsaw".
(text may not appear in the exact sequence of events due to differences in pacing which occur naturally in on-line chat environments) mark:To help Rodolfo, contact Sierra Club or Amnesty International. They are campaigning on his behalf. An international day of action is planned—help with that. He 's a hero. mark: Patrick is quite right--Goldman prize is good place to go. The Sierra-Amnesty alliance is very important, and they are championing the cases of 9 other enviros wrongly jailed, too. mark: yes, some trees can't be cut, like giant sequoias, but most are fair game. mark: sorry, chandler, i didn't catch end of your message. mark: yes, not all politicians are crooked. On clearcutting, the Good Guy is the #2 Democrat in State Assembly, Fred Keeley. Help him out, too, with your support. mark: I didnt know about the Oregon story, but I'd like to investigate it further. Any leads? Dates? mark: One last thought about politicians: don't always blame them, as citizens we too have a responsibility to keep them honest, by holding their feet to fire, voting out the bad ones, etc. mark: I see some encouraging trends, but alas, most of the big problems--global warming, species extinctions, deforestation--are getting worse, and faster than ever. mark: Hemp would definitely be an enviro positive. mark: Hemp would definitely be an enviro positive. mark: Clearcutting is cheaper for the logger, no doubt. But if we calculate economics according to the larger society, and not just that one firm, clear-cutting is way more expensive. mark: Reason: clear-cutting destroys water supplies, ruin touristry business, and causes manyother related problems. mark: Sure, plenty. I like Nader, but here in the Bay Area there's also Cong. George Miller, who recently sponsored a bill passed by Congress that will dramatically increase wild spaces and parks in this country. mark: Contact the League of Conservation Voters to check any politician's environmental voting record. mark: Do you mean groups that work solely on Bay Area issues? mark: I don't think, Chandler, that the government should pay companies not to do what they shouldn't be doing in the first place--though I like your practical turn of mind. mark: Re wild places, there's a new effort being made in that direction by Dave Foreman, one of the former founders of Earth First, but I don't know the name of the group--do you, Cindy? mark: Owen, as for groups here in Bay Area, check out Rainforest Action Network--they are about the best group out there fighting deforestation--from right here in SF! mark: We needn't rely only on politicians, though that's important. We can also use non-violent resistance, as the Yuba Nation folks did this summer up in the Sierra, very effectively. mark: Of course I agree with preservation. We need as much of every good idea, every awesome activist direction, as we can get. The hour's late and the planet ain't getting better by itself. mark: mark: Owen, I'll domy best. And sorry I was late for this--but it was fun and let's tay in touch. mark: Also, please join my own group, the Global Green Deal, at www.globalgreendeal.org owen: Is there anybody else besides Keeley who is worth supporting? owen: Cool. Do you know of any specific Bay Area organizations that me or my fellow high school students could get involved in? chandler: I think it's clear that the rammifications of clear cutting far out way the economic gain, however if the government could offer some sort of financial aid for logging co. that stopped clear cutting it could help ease the financial loss owen: I've always thoght that instead of trying to conserve the environment we should try to preserve the environment. I think that large plots of land should be made illegal for humans to enter and therefore make them generally untainted and wild. owen: No, just groups that are centered in the Bay Area. chandler: I just think that every second we waste is another
tree or animal that is robbed of its home. Time is pecious and compramise
would seem to slow it more quickly until the final blow stikes and kills
clear cut tactics owen: What do you think about this preservation idea? chandler: look at the impact julia Butterfly had owen: Oh well, I guess thy're kicking us off. Thanks alot Mark. I'd really appreciate it if you kept me posted at Laztog143@aol.com, if you don't mind. chandler: quite a feat for just one person owen: Pretty cool russel.They just kicked us off, but i'll tell
you tomorrow ok. Peace. owen: Bye everyone. mary&ivan: OK, Mark ... will join it mary&ivan: goodnight everyone PittsburgArbuckle: is Mr. Arbuckle here PittsburgArbuckle: Well anyways.. this is greg... PittsburgArbuckle: Well anyways.. this is greg...see ya tommorow 4n4k: hallo... budah: hi |
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