Dear editor,
We now know that the forest is a complex community, a living interchange of energy that recycles in the true sense – water, nutrients, life. Polls show that 80 per cent of British Columbians want to protect the remaining old-growth forest from further destruction. Science gives us undisputed proof of their value in restraining the growth of carbon in our atmosphere. Yet reports sit on desks.
Tree farms replace living forests.
Politicians encourage polarity and dither over terminology, pushing any worthwhile action down the road. Potential loss of short-term jobs becomes potential loss of voters in the forest industry. There is no plan until the last ancient tree comes down.
Logging companies claim they are avoiding sensitive areas - all old-growth areas are sensitive. Protectors are labelled as protesters. And the rest of us deal with daily COVID figures and our daily struggles with keeping afloat ourselves in this uncertain climate.
Yet it is past time to stand up for the remaining giants - irreplaceable and facing a tragic extinction. Our future generations are the ones who will be dealing with the devastating results of our inaction now. When do we tell the government that it is not within their rights to decide that our remaining three per cent of the original forest is merely a commodity, standing lumber? Where we draw the line? There is no green economy when we refuse to start green jobs here and now. The forest quietly continues to work for our planet and it is time we joined it.
Dorothy Drubek,
Comox
ALSO: B.C. overhaul of logging policy continues to include old-growth harvest