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April 11 The "Root" of EvilWhen the Bible talks about the "root" of evil, I'm not sure it had White's Woods of Indiana County in mind. It is the Biblical "root of evil" , money, that seems to be at the "root" of the problem for this 245 acres of forest. White township in Indiana County, PA, has come up with a plan to log this long untouched green space in its' borders. The resulting income will amount to $17,000 a year for 10 years for the township.
The plan is designed to remove "trees that are expected to die or are choking the growth of healthier trees". By standards of forest management, this is a legitimate and responsible plan. And, while the original intent of the purchase of this property was conservation, the term conservation can be expanded to include management practices such as the proposed logging. Forest management and conservation of this kind is a good thing if the forest is being used as a source of income or a crop.
My gut feeling though is that if there were no profit to be made from this "conservation", the township wouldn't give this project a second thought. In fact, they would not have hired a consulting forester to make a management plan if there was not some idea that money could be made from the property. So here is the question, is the resulting rather small and short term income worth the huge change that will occur in this often used piece of forest? Even the most careful logging methods will result in areas that are greatly disturbed. And while a forest does regenerate itself, and will do so in this case, it will take 40 - 60 years before newly sprouted trees reach maturity.
Some of the towns people say "No, this is not what we want" and are peacefully protesting the plan. They would like to see this forest remain untouched and allowed to progress through the stages of succession without intervention. Does this mean the forest will remain unchanged? No, all forests are constantly changing. But barring a natural catastrophe, the changes will happen slowly and gradually ( and I think quite gracefully). Logging is happening on larger scales all over this county. Keeping some forested areas untouched is also a legitimate management practice. What remains to be seen is what will untilmately win out, the money or the trees.
Want to learn more about how trees help us? See the TreePeople. April 05 A truly "green" lawnHaving a green lawn might take on a new meaning this year. The West Lawn of the Capitol building will be the location of a kick-off for the Safe Lawns Campaign. The SafeLawns Foundation wants to see 1 million acres of grass converted to organic lawn by 2010. My hope is that all lawns would be converted much sooner and we would end the foolish application of poisons to the spaces around our homes (and everywhere).
Lawn chemicals have been linked to cancer in some small dogs; higher rates of cancer, especially leukemia, in children; and various other health problems. I have friends who have unfortunately experienced the possible connection between pesticide use and leukemia in children. They had their home sprayed for spiders and within months, their 2 year old son developed leukemia. The doctors felt there was a link between the spraying and the leukemia. And, although this chemical was not one intended for lawn care, the chemicals that are used routinely to achieve that perfect green lawn are just as deadly.
A green lawn is a beautiful site, but not at the expense of people's lives or the environment. I hope SafeLawns succeeds and surpasses its' goal so we can have truly beautiful "green" lawns April 03 Make a differenceI decided that today I would make a difference in my world. I spent 5 hours picking up trash on a small stretch of our back road. The road is used as a short cut between two larger roads, so there is quite a lot of traffic for such a rural road. With the traffic comes trash. Some people can't seem to wait until they get home before tossing their junk out the window of their car. They must view the world as their personal giant trash can. To me, that is like throwing trash in your living room. I won't waste more time worrying about these people though because I doubt they will ever change. Even if they won't change though, I can change the fact that the trash is just laying there day after day. I couldn't stand to look at it any longer.
There are many things you can change even if you can't effect the way others think or act. By making small changes in your actions (what your buy or don't buy, whether you recycle, choosing to walk not drive ) you can be part of a movement to make a bigger collective impact.
This was also the conclusion of the Globe foundation, sponsors of EPIC: the Sustainable Living Expo held this March in Vancouver, Canada. Since we live in a consumer driven economy, every purchase we make can help change corporate policies and increase production and availability of products that are environmentally friendly.
Go ahead, make a difference today. |
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