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Subject:Re: Paper Prices From:John Renish <John -dot- Renish -at- CONNER -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 25 May 1995 10:29:14 PDT
Tsk, tsk, Michael,
The fact is that logging has become so efficient that three men can denude
the 160 acres around a "show" in a couple of weeks. Many more jobs are being
lost in mills as a result of restrictions on cutting old growth, and many
times as many jobs are being lost in mills because the timber operators are
exporting raw logs, mostly to Japan. We could ensure more jobs by
prohibiting the export of raw logs than we could by permitting the wholesale
cutting of old growth forests.
If we permit unrestricted cutting of old growth forests, they will be gone
in ten years. Logging is at best an industry that has passed maturity in the
US and that will continue for the long term at greatly reduced levels. I
don't see you crying for commercial fishermen whose long-term livelihood has
been trashed by indiscriminate logging's effect on spawning streams. Should
we have protected, say, whalers and buggy-whip braiders? Technology has
wiped out a lot more jobs than environmentalism has. You might want to check
the short article in the most recent issue of Scientific American that shows
the miniscule effect of "green" activities and the disastrous effect of
business practice on jobs as a whole.
Are you aware that plantations of poplars, particularly cottonwood, are an
economically viable source of paper and much less destructive of soil? In
fact, some wags have noted that hemp is even more efficient in this
connection.
Beside all that, are you arguing that economics should control all
decisions? Following that logic, we should consume all we can and let the
next generation fend for itself. Never mind that we leave a world
esthetically, spiritually, and yes, economically poorer.
Or, to put it in libertarian terms your signature in another post suggests
would resonate with you: Your freedom to swing your fist stops at my nose.
It's a good rule for timber companies vs. fisherman and taxpayers, too.
John -dot- Renish -at- conner -dot- com
My statements are my own and do not represent Conner Peripherals, Inc.
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