🚀 go-pugleaf

kelly.cowan@ebbs.cts.com wrote:
> 
> To all concerned:
> 
> For the past two days, I have witnessed The California Forest Products
> Commission advertising their "stewardship" to the environment minutes before
> the world news on CBS in two seperate commercials.<SNIP>

> I suspect that the timber industry has a lot more money since salvage sales
> are booming now, thanks to The President and 104th congress allowing the
> "salvage" rider to make it into law.   Goodness, it must cost a bundle to
> run all these commercials and take out full-page ads in major newspapers.  I
> wonder why they are doing this??????  I want to know what you think.
> 
> Is it
> 
> 1) Because these are public service announcements
> 2) Because it is election year and the rebublicans have taken a beating on
> the environment.
> 3) Because the timber industry wants your guard down so they can slip more
> "riders" past the public.
> 4) Because polluters "really care."
> 
> Kelly.cowan@ebbs.cts.com


Hi Kelly--

Good to see another San Diego Sierra Clubber discussing forest issues!

I was back in DC last month, lobbying to get a repeal of the "Logging without 
Laws" Salvage rider. Based on the types of conversations I had with staff of 
Congressmen and Senators who sincerely (?) believe this is a good law, I 
would have to answer that:

1) Logging interests are donating big bucks to these folks, as well as to the 
commercials you describe 

2) Most of our current congress members have zero committment to actually 
preserving the nation's forest. They really believe plantation tree farms are 
essentially equivalent to old growth forest-- so what's the problem??? 
(Favorite line: "There's more trees (read-- tree farms) today than there were 
100 years ago.")

3) There is a lot of anger against "enviros" because we actually were 
successful at protecting the forests for a while in the early 90s. This 
latest logging without laws rampage on federal lands has a lot of anger and 
retribution (if not outright revenge) behind it, along the lines of "you 
slowed down the cuts, now it's payback time."

4) There is still a lot of false rhetoric out there re:the causes for loggers 
losing their jobs. Mill automation and exports are a big culprit, but you 
won't hear the corporations admitting to that.

In fact, less than 1 mile from my home in Sauzal, Baja California, Mexico, is 
a Louisianna-Pacific drying yard and mill. Lots of redwood winds up down 
there, along with the associated jobs. If LP was so worried about keeping US 
timber industry workers employed, why are they exporting wood and jobs? 

With all this in mind...
I invite all of you who care about the nation's forests to CALL President 
Clinton on Friday, July 26, and deliver a simple message:
	***Repeal the Salvage Logging Rider, and cancel the salvage
			timber sales in California***

(Why July 26: This is the day before the 1 year anniversary of the passing of 
 "Logging Without Laws" Rider. )

So: Call him up@(202)456-1111, or send him email: (president@whitehouse.gov), 
or a fax (202)456-2461. Make sure he hears from a lot of California voters 
who will be thinking about November elections and whether Clinton has really 
fulfilled on his environmental promises re:our forests before they cast 
their ballots.


-- 
Lori Saldana - The Internet Connection
Training and classes for the information age... 
...because it's time to be on-line
http://www.netconnection.com/lori/