To Save the Forest, the Trees Must Go nytimes.com
[ What the heck, they just cause pollution anyway. "We had to destroy the village to save it". ]
In its announcement of the project, the Forest Service referred to the logging euphemistically as "management-caused changes in vegetation," and said the study would test whether the benefits of the cleared areas, which would create firebreaks, exceed the ecological damage, especially to the spotted owl habitat. Like the more famous northern spotted owl of the Pacific Northwest, the California species is struggling for survival.
Environmental advocates who have long fought logging in the region, and some scientists, see this proposal as science on the model of Japanese whalers, who take their harpoons to sea in what they call a research project — one that happens to put whale meat on the menus of pricey restaurants in Tokyo.
[ Then there's the howler of the week ]
Mark Rey, the assistant secretary of agriculture who oversees the Forest Service, said adversaries in the debates should learn to trust each other and the government.
"I certainly trust the environmental groups," said Mr. Rey, who was formerly a lobbyist for a forest industry group. "They've spent millions of dollars on political ads to demonize the administration, but that doesn't mean I don't trust them."
[ A Bush type with an ironic sense of humor. I'm shocked. The "trust the government" line seems to be a major violation of Republican dogma, though . Next up: Government sponsorship of "creation science"? ] |
