Rosewood and Greens and The Rain Forest Myth

[Guest guest]

Ok, thanks. Was just wondering, because you didn't elaborate on the tree

issue--just said they should be logged. I remember when they would go in and

cut every tree in site--and that was still my vision--as that is what I see

every day here due to housing development. They cut these big old live oaks

down, build a house, and then plant some ash tree because it grows fast. But

there are a few good developers that are actually trying to work around the

old trees, keeping as many as possible, and laying out sub-divisions in an

environmentally ethical manner as possible. They are still few and far

between, but it's a start anyway.

 

samala

Renee

" tossed down to live among angels, who have forgotten what they are, I

strive to remember " RLV 1998

 

----

 

 

Slash and burn is no longer a viable means of harvesting in the USA.

Nor do logging companies spend the time and effort to cut and haul out

logs from trees that are next to useless. If we are to listen to the

Greens we should cut no trees .. but every one of them I am sure is not

living with plastic or concrete furniture in their homes .. or living in

concrete homes walking on concrete floors.

[Guest guest]

-Hi Butch,

Hum.¡K A topic very much after my heart - but where to start?

(First a word in defence of Chrissie, she is actually a lovely person

when you meet her, I love her a lot and respect her knowledge about

herbs and essential oils.)

I¡¦m not going to ¡§go there¡¨ on your disparaging opinion of ¡§Tree

Huggers¡¨ ¡V that¡¦s a whole separate subject - it¡¦s your own opinion -

and it¡¦s not my place to even try to change that ƒº.

But I am going to take you up on the rainforests¡K¡Kand bring in

rosewood, because the destruction of Amazonia is not an Urban Legend.

Not by a long chalk. Dr. Patrick Moore was at one time (and maybe

still is?) on the board of the Forest Alliance of British Columbia, a

group created by the timber industry to address the accusations of

environmentalists. His views on Brazil are just one man¡¦s opinion -

nothing more.

The Wired Magazine Profile of Dr Moore can be read on Moore¡¦s own web

page here for those interested:

http://www.greenspirit.com/logbook.cfm?msid=66

 

The world consensus view on Amazonia paints a very different picture.

 

From NWFP newsletter 22/4/04

7. Brazil: Amazon hit by increase in felling

Source: The Guardian, 8 April 2004 (in Amazon News 8.4.04)

The rate of deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rose by 2.1 percent

last year as farmers encroached on the world's largest jungle, the

government said yesterday. Figures from Brazil's environment ministry

showed deforestation in the Amazon jumped to 9 170 square miles in

2003, from 8 983 square miles in 2002. The 2002 data was

recalculated, it said. The highest level of destruction was in 1995,

when 11 229 square miles were destroyed.

Brazil last month unveiled plans to halt the destruction, amid

criticism that the government of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had failed

to move quickly enough.

Environmentalists fear the destruction of the Amazon, an area of

continuous tropical forest larger than Western Europe, since it is

home to up to 30 percent of the planet's species and is a source of

medicines.

" The government needs to immediately create conservation programmes

tripling the area protected, " said Denis Hamu, secretary general of

the World Wildlife Foundation, in Brazil.

(Back issues of the Digest may be found on FAO's NWFP home page:

www.fao.org/forestry/foris/webview/fop/index.jsp?siteId=2301 & langId=1)

 

http://forests.org/blog/archives/000590.htm

 

In 2002 and 2003, the rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

climbed to nearly 2.4 million hectares per year, driven by land

speculation along the routes of new roads, cattle ranching, and

soybean farming. This equals 11 football fields a minute. While the

Brazilian government has stepped up satellite monitoring and involved

additional ministries to address deforestation, they have steadfastly

refused to cancel or significantly revise the large-scale

infrastructure development plans predicted to eliminate the Amazon's

large, intact and unfragmented rainforest expanses.

 

http://forests.org/blog/archives/000558.htm

April 25th 2004

Earlier this month the Brazilian government announced that annual

Amazonian deforestation had grown by 2 percent last year to just over

9,000 square miles, courtesy of Brazilian beef and soy growers, and

their consumers. This loss of ancient rainforests, covering an area

the size of the U.S. state of New Hampshire, would be the second

highest annual loss since official record-keeping started in 1988.

One would expect the response of the Brazilian government and

international community to be one of outrage, and to hear renewed

pledges to reign in the destruction.

 

I could give many other such links.

 

When I first started researching rosewood essential oil I decided to

start afresh, I didn¡¦t want to rehash old information as ¡§facts¡¨

because situations change, and printed or internet information

doesn¡¦t necessarily keep up with the times. So I contacted the

Brazilian Chamber of Commerce to start with ¡V took 3 months to get a

reply ¡V but they gave me some good contacts eventually (most lost

unfortunately when my computer crashed) As my search was aromatherapy

specific I also wanted to find out about RW leaf & twig production

eg: sustainable production of RW and whether this was a viable

option. Its not ¡V not yet ¡V but anyone interested in this area can

check out details of the AVIVE project - which is working towards L & T

RW oil production - on the IFPA web site. (Chrissie gave me the

initial means to contact AVIVE by the way).

But apart from the hope offered by AVIVE (and other similar projects)

the overall picture is grim. Illegal logging of RW causes extensive

damage to the surrounding environment, the very secretive nature of

the operation means that loggers need to go ever deeper in to the

forest to avoid detection, leaving a trail of destruction in their

wake.

Legal RW logging is as bad ¡V there are no plantations waiting in line

to be felled (there may be ¡V but not according to my Brazilian

contacts) RW is not a tree that takes kindly to mono culture. It

likes the forest canopy and diversity to protect it whilst it

matures. So although Legal harvesting breaks no law, it still reeks

havoc with the environment. Rosewood *IS* endangered (per IBAMA -

not ¡§opinion¡¨), the remaining stands of RW trees are now deep in the

forest and to get at them means cutting a trail of destruction.

Not buying RW essential oil will not save the Brazilian rainforest -

I accept that.

But looking at what is happening over there with open eyes helps us

to understand what is happening in the wider world. And we ignore

that to our peril.

Nuff said ļ

Love

Liz, none book seller, none educator, none oil seller ¡V just wife,

mum and grandma and practicing therapist, oh, (and none paid) IFPA

council member for my pains ļ

IBAMA web site http://www.ibama.gov.br/ right click any page and

click ¡§translate this page¡¨ in Explorer.

[Guest guest]

Sorry bout that .. my PC kept the last one I looked up instead of the

one I highlighted following it .. and now y'all are in suspense. ;-)

 

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=14987

 

> Um, Butch?? Wrong url--what you sent was the page for a currency converter

> program! lol Also, could you elaborate on what you mean by saying " old

> forests should be harvested " ?

 

Which forests should we harvest? Those that are not mature are not

ready. The last protest by the Green Weenies (last week) was against a

company that had purchased part of a mature forest in the Pacific NW.

 

> I'm assuming (there I go thinking again, or as my friend use to say

> " ASS-sume " ) you mean tap the trees and not cut down the whole forest?

 

Slash and burn is no longer a viable means of harvesting in the USA.

Nor do logging companies spend the time and effort to cut and haul out

logs from trees that are next to useless. If we are to listen to the

Greens we should cut no trees .. but every one of them I am sure is not

living with plastic or concrete furniture in their homes .. or living in

concrete homes walking on concrete floors.

 

One of my friends in Kentucky just sold part of a 280 acre tract of

timber to loggers .. they came in and marked the trees they would cut

and those they would leave behind .. and their bid on the tract was

based on what they would harvest.

 

> samala

>

> Renee

>

> " tossed down to live among angels, who have forgotten what they are, I

> strive to remember " RLV 1998

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

 

> But I have never climbed a tree and chained myself because I wanted to

> be on TV as one who opposed the harvest of OLD forests .. which should

> be harvested.

 

> The Myth of the Rain Forests is one example .. and I will bet odds that

> information presented in the following URL will run off their backs like

> water off a duck.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=14987