The Cut

I saw my first logging truck as I crested the summit outside of Weaverville yesterday. The sight put a knot deep in my gut. I am not a fan of logging...specifically clearcutting. I could tell this area was fueled by the logging industry. Full lumberyards and the scared mountain sides near-bye were proof.

A hillside marked by logging

Because knowledge is power, I would like to share some information I pulled from the NRDC’s (National Resource Defence Council) website:

Clearcutting means the felling and removal of all trees from a given tract of forest. One forestry expert refers to the practice as "an ecological trauma that has no precedent in nature except for a major volcanic eruption." Clearcutting can destroy an area's ecological integrity in a number of ways, including:

• The destruction of buffer zones which reduce the severity of flooding by absorbing and holding water;

  
• The immediate removal of forest canopy, which destroys the habitat for many rainforest-dependent insects and bacteria;

  
• The removal of forest carbon sinks, leading to global warming through the increased human-induced and natural carbon dioxide build-up in the atmosphere;

  
• The elimination of fish and wildlife species due to soil erosion and habitat loss;

  
• The removal of underground worms, fungi and bacteria that condition soil and protect plants growing in it from disease;

  
• The loss of small-scale economic opportunities, such as fruit-picking, sap extraction, and rubber tapping; and

  
• The destruction of aesthetic values and recreational opportunities.Intact, healthy forests play a large role in supporting all forms of life on Earth.
  

To environmentalists, the finality of clearcutting is viewed as an ecological tragedy.

For more info, visit www.NRDC.org

"There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed."
~Mohandas K. Gandhi