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GBlist: I'd rather hug a tree than give up my OSB



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The more I thought about the question, the madder I got (not at you), so
you may want to skip the rest of this message--it's a rant.

<snip>

Dear Mike,

Please understand, I love a good rant. I like to be around people who
are passionate about their beliefs. And I dearly appreciate the
education you folks have given me about the politics of big time timber
harvesting. So let me return the favor.

In Vermont, 70% of our land is forested. Lucky us? Not really. A hundred
years ago, the state was 70% pasture. This does not represent a
beautiful environmental turn around. It is the result of depopulation
and the extreme poverty that lingers today. And the bottom line-poverty
does not foster environmental conservation. Something else fun to know
about ecological change-the State Fossil was found in my back yard. It's
a whale and I'm a long way from the ocean.

I object to the personification of plants. Trees are wonderful, a
stagering gift of creation, but they are not people. Brutally slashing
them is ugly business, but it is not a holocaust. Chipping old growth
timber is a wasteful and ignorant thing to do, but it is not rape. You
just don't have to diminish the value of people to accentuate the
grandeur of the silva.

I am convinced that the lumber industry does not bring prosperity to the
world, and I don't own the stock of L-P. But I'm not ashamed to use
their InnerSeal OSB panels. I think they are a fabulous
product-stucturally and environmentally. Not free from impact, but an
order of magnitude better than the alternatives. And their insulation is
cellulose which I do get emotional about. When I saw their OSB
clapboard, it was clear to me that the product was a looser. So I didn't
buy it. 

But my customers demand that I buy a lot of stuff. So the timber
industry does what I want it to do. What they want it to do. What we
want it to do.

I just try to get them the most conservative and durable stuff. Because
even if a timber comes from a certified forest, if it rots or makes
someone sick from mold spores, the whole thing was still a waste. When
you complain about large private houses, I can't tell if I'm hearing
environmental concern or class envy. You're an American. That means that
90% of the population sees you and me as gluttonous pigs. So judge not,
'less you be judged.

Regards and thanks, Fred
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