In Forest They Smiled
~ John Gray
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Sometimes it seems like just about everyone in the world has gone insane. The more the signs appear that we are trashing our only home, Earth, the more frenetically we trash it. Even when it would be effortless to respect nature, our species perversely, at the mere suggestion we curb our appetite, becomes even more virulent. Here are some examples:
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This hubris is in no way excused by “artistic license”. Hasn’t she ever seen Goldfinger?
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Of course – this is only one of so many raging right now. As predicted at Wit’s End, long ago when I first realized pollution is killing trees, the wildfires are going to become a nightmare and extend far beyond traditional locations.
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It turns out that deforestation isn’t the largest threat to forests in the Amazon, which is saying a lot. NASA has discovered that a hitherto unsuspected huge number of understory fires are raging…which they naturally blame on climate change:
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“The image below is satellite data that shows the percent amount that foliage cover has changed around the world from 1982 to 2010. Note the biggest increases are in the arid regions of western North America, Africa and western Australia. Image courtesy of CSIRO.”
Sounds terrific, right? But what I wondered is, why are they trumpeting a “greening of the desert” without mentioning that all of those orange, red, and especially vast areas of yellow represent 0 to 20% or more of vegetative LOSS? Shouldn’t that be of concern?
Of course the ridiculous canard that CO2 is good for plants, so we shouldn’t worry about climate change is an oft-repeated assertion of professional deniers, but this article pretends to prove it – and doesn’t. So, as is always a good idea when confronted with something that smells like complete bullshit, it’s generally a good idea to check the source. As it happens, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is the national government body for scientific research in Australia, which sounds like impeccable credentials until you read their wikipage .
There you will discover that not only are there strong links between the CSIRO, its CEO and the Australian coal industry (gee, sounds just like the US and Canada!), they are a tool of industry -including Monsanto: ”Employing over 6,600 staff, CSIRO maintains more than 50 sites across Australia and biological control research stations in France and Mexico. The primary roles of CSIRO include contributing to meeting the objectives and responsibilities of the Australian Federal Government and providing new ways to benefit the Australian community and the economic and social performance of a number of industry sectors through research and development.”
It wouldn’t be the first time “reputable” scientists have given assistance to fossil fuel industries by claiming that plants are growing faster thanks to higher levels of CO2. Several years ago, some scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center published research (funded by HSBC) claiming just that. Since their plot in Maryland was conveniently on the way home from a protest in Washington, I stopped by to have a look at the forest and discovered they were flat-out lying (but be warned, that’s another long post!).
As yet another rebuttal to the CISCO study, someone left a link on Facebook to an indispensable gizmo which you may want to refer to from time to time – The Worldometers calculate statistics in real time, everything from births to emissions to creeping desertification. It’s great fun to watch the numbers whiz by.
Then again, the Disaster Report has a wonderful interactive map where you can mouse over an icon for more detailed information. As so-called natural disasters proliferate, it will no doubt come in handy.
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“The first major test of controversial planning reforms in England has led to the approval for a stone quarry to be excavated in 80 acres of ancient woodland in Kent, leading campaigners to declare ‘no green space is safe’”.
Oaken Wood in Maidstone is threatened by plans to expand a quarry into ancient woodland. |
“The development of Oaken wood, near Maidstone, has been the subject of a fierce planning battle and Eric Pickles, secretary of state at the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), granted final approval on Friday.”
“The site hosts rare lady orchids, firecrests and nightingales and a wildlife survey found six bat species, 37 bird species, as well as lizards and important plants.”
Hedley Hall Wood is looked after by the Woodland Trust, that is campaigning against the planning reforms.
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“…In Pickles’s letter granting permission for the new Oaken Wood quarry, he writes: ‘The very considerable need for both crushed rock aggregates and dimension stone, together with the eventual biodiversity improvements, and the ongoing socioeconomic benefits, would clearly outweigh the loss of the ancient woodland and the other adverse effects of the development in this case.’”
Trevone in Cornwall is under threat from a housing development. |
“Holden said: ‘We are extremely concerned now that this outcome could define the level of protection given to ancient woods and indeed all irreplaceable habitats in all future planning decisions across England. With just 2% ancient woodland cover remaining, we can not afford to lose any more. Ancient woodland is irreplaceable and, as such, no mitigation exists for its loss.’”
The Cotswolds could be damaged by the building of a major new motorway service station on the M5.
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These pictures of the idyllic countryside in the UK illuminate the thoughts I was trying to express to a blogger named Mark, who writes at Call of the Wilderness. He observed quite astutely that it’s always been foolish to waste the limited, precious time we have on this earth waiting…waiting…waiting for life to begin – in anticipation of the next material good that promises fulfillment, a stance which leaves us in perpetual, unsatisfied limbo.
The Wye Valley is under threat from a polytunnel development. |
The other thing Mark pointed out is also valid to a certain extent – that grieving over the degraded condition of the ecosystem is misguided, because the conditions we grew up in would look abysmal to people who lived in the past…and to people in the future, what we have now will look splendid by comparison.
East Coker in Devon, immortalised in TS Eliot’s poems, is under threat from development. |
That assumes of course there will be people in the future. Aside from that though, for me it glosses over the fundamental essence of what is substantively different now than anything that has occurred before. To wit, nature is not merely changing, it is being murdered. These scenes of pastoral views don’t resemble anything like primeval wilderness and haven’t for many hundreds of years. And yet all that time they were alive. The fields and coppiced hedgerows and paddocks and livestock were well tended and thriving, meadows were homes to certain species of butterflies and birds that only are found in mowed places.
Kent Downs is threatened by the planned expansion of Lydd Airport. |
Indubitably, there are some vestiges of life left – I still like to watch the birds at the feeder and walk by the sea, when I can get there – but it is all so paltry and depauperate from what it once was that it is more like wandering through a cemetery. Sure, there is still life – fungus and other decomposers breaking down the corpses. But…anything to celebrate? Is it possible to love a decayed cadaver?
The Forest of Bowland is threatened by an onshore wind farm. |
In my view what is occurring before our disbelieving eyes goes far, far beyond prior human interference with the biosphere such as agriculture or deforestation or overfishing or mining or building dams, heinous as those activities are. It goes even beyond climate change (which will kill just about everything but hasn’t yet). It goes beyond the short-sighted introduction of invasive species disrupting the ancient harmony of ecosystems.
New energy generation capacity, both on-shore and off-shore, threaten the Suffolk coastline. |
What bothers me about our contemporary predicament, and seems impossible to escape, is the poisoning. It was only a few years ago that I could plant flowers and have them thrive. The night sky in summer shimmered with fireflies and the pond water was clear, you could see the fish. Obviously small farms aren’t the same as virgin timberland, which never wholly recovers once clearcut…but even on farms there was abundant life that established its own rhythm and balance and relationships. The life was potent and verdant and powerful.
The development of 90 new homes threatens greenfield site Cranborne Chase, Wiltshire. |
A planning application has been made for three 80m high wind turbines near Nidderdale, Yorkshire Dales. |
A new incinerator plant proposed at Chieveley, with 85 metre high stacks, threatens the North Wessex Downs in Berkshire. |
And the thing is, there isn’t any good way to do that.
~ Leonard Cohen
your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm,
yes, many loved before us, I know that we are not new,
in city and in forest they smiled like me and you,
but now it’s come to distances and both of us must try,
your eyes are soft with sorrow,
Hey, that’s no way to say goodbye.
walk me to the corner, our steps will always rhyme
you know my love goes with you as your love stays with me,
it’s just the way it changes, like the shoreline and the sea,
but let’s not talk of love or chains and things we can’t untie,
your eyes are soft with sorrow,
Hey, that’s no way to say goodbye.
Source: http://witsendnj.blogspot.com/2013/07/in-forest-they-smiled.html
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