Friday, May 06, 2005
10 minutes with NPR: The road ahead is filled with danger and fright . . .
NPR reported on the Bush Administration's amendment of the "Roadless Rule," which bans road building in certain areas of National Forests. Under the new proposal, the government is allowing the states to have a say in the issue by giving governors 18 months to present proposals on what areas should be opened -- if nothing is proposed in that time then the Forest Service will determine which areas will remain.
The environmentalists are, of course, apoplectic. This led to the hyperbole of the day from some chick with the National Resources Defense Council, who stated: "The President is replacing the Roadless Rule with a Treeless Rule and he is depriving future generations of, really, some of America's greatest heritage in our wild forests."
Look, you granola-eating, squirrel lovers, nothing in this amendment allows ONE more foot of road to be built, so it can't be blamed for the death of one tree. All this bill does is let the people who actually LIVE in these communities (unlike you, who live in a big city because, presumably, there are no good coffee bars in Alaska) to make some decisions about their localities. These uncaring locals are a bit concerned with the fact that a lot of the inaccessible old growth forest will reach the life stage scientifically known as the "tinderbox," which will result in what is scientifically known as "huge damn fires." Of course, from a perch in the middle of NYC or DC it is difficult to understand this. Think of it this way. Imagine someone closed down all of the malls, your Prius had a flat tire, your iPod won't work, and you have to connect to the internet with a 14k modem -- a forest fire is nearly that bad.
So chill out, write a letter to your congressman/governor, and quit worrying the the hell out of us.
The environmentalists are, of course, apoplectic. This led to the hyperbole of the day from some chick with the National Resources Defense Council, who stated: "The President is replacing the Roadless Rule with a Treeless Rule and he is depriving future generations of, really, some of America's greatest heritage in our wild forests."
Look, you granola-eating, squirrel lovers, nothing in this amendment allows ONE more foot of road to be built, so it can't be blamed for the death of one tree. All this bill does is let the people who actually LIVE in these communities (unlike you, who live in a big city because, presumably, there are no good coffee bars in Alaska) to make some decisions about their localities. These uncaring locals are a bit concerned with the fact that a lot of the inaccessible old growth forest will reach the life stage scientifically known as the "tinderbox," which will result in what is scientifically known as "huge damn fires." Of course, from a perch in the middle of NYC or DC it is difficult to understand this. Think of it this way. Imagine someone closed down all of the malls, your Prius had a flat tire, your iPod won't work, and you have to connect to the internet with a 14k modem -- a forest fire is nearly that bad.
So chill out, write a letter to your congressman/governor, and quit worrying the the hell out of us.
Centinel 9:48 AM #