Our forests

[jamie]

This is discusting..

Everytime I am inthose forests it makes me so sad seeing the clearcuts..I have been there too many times..some of the largests areas of rainforest are in BC and this is what they are doing..still.

Makes me soo sad...
I want to have a discussion on what we can do to help stop this type of stuff, and save our old growth forests...

I have been getting real angry at people lately when I see them not recycling..I even got in a few big fights with my sister over it..watching her throw out all kinds of paper products becasue she is too lazy to recycle and doesnt seem to care..I see it all around me..I even got into arguments with strangers about this type of thing..it pisses me off and I feel I have every right to tell them what I think becasue I have to live on this planet as well..

It makes me feel hopeless..so many people seem to be unable to see what it is that is front of them and what they are doing..they have no idea of the consequences..it's such a horrid level of stupidity..and it's destroying this place.

But it's getting to the point where recycling is only the tip of the iceburg..I dont even want to live in this place anymore..this city is a dump. Vancouver could be a paradise but instead they are creating babylon...I feel stuck in western modality and I want out..I dont want to work for this society anymore or pay the taxes that fund these atrocities..

I cant be the only one..

 

[Jorkest]

FE sounds like you need to move in with me...grab a tent buddy and come on over...

after watching Avatar..it made me realize what we are doing to our planet...and i say WE because it is WE...what are we gonna do? we need to find a creative solution...personally i think our only hope is in either technology..or hyperspace and jimjam....

 

[jamie]

Yeah this is why I dont like being a part of this society..I feel like even living in it I am helping with the destruction of this place..

I wish that the government would create more available jobs for reforestation or other environmental things instead of all these rediculous factory jobs..I feel like if I even want to make a decent wage these days I have to do some sort of destructive shit work..construction..and I have been there enough times.

I might join greenpeace.

 

[universecannon]

Your not helping the destruction fractal your actually doing the opposite by helping people become aware of these terrible problems simply by posting.

I feel helpless and trapped a lot within society and the way it is going and hate being a part of the problem but we gotta keep fighting the good fight and raising awareness about these things. Its true a lot of people are blind to our affect on life on this planet but there are lots who are trying to do something about it.

 

[endlessness]

yeah I share the feeling also, and as well have been recently trying to get family involved in recycling, diminishing unnecessary consumption and wasting.. It makes me so sad/angry/dissapointed when people act completely unsustainably without ever really looking at their actions critically. I also know im not perfect and just by living here we leave a certain 'footprint', but since we have been given this gift of being alive, better make use of it as best as possible, try to diminish our impact and try to enlighten others, and try to give back whenever we can, plant trees, help out nature in whatever way, etc..

I completely agree with you that the government should create jobs that are connected with sustainability/cleaning up/helpign the earth, but the issue is that in a short term it will be money being spent for something that the politicians in power will not really notice much help in their time in power.. Its something that would pay off in the long term and in a broader way that may not be easy to count and show, and few of them are willing to work for that.

But we can still do our own part, try to set the example, try to not be contradicting and really live the changes we talk about.. I think I have made a little bit of difference in the world, and have gotten better with time, which is enough to at least give me strenght to keep trying.

You're not alone bro, keep going!

 

[TruePsychonaut]

I share your sentiments.I do what i can to recycle everything that can be.Even my own family sometimes show disregard for what really is an easy task.We need a far greater program of educating people to the necessity of recycling to ensure the sustainability of our environment.Just noticing some neighbours in my area that don't seem to take note of the services they have at their own front door really does leave me in disbelief.

It does seem to be a point where the onus is constantly put on the general public to act on recycling.Our governments need to take businesses and manufacturers to task to tackle the problem.There is an unimaginable amount of unnecessary packaging that plague our high streets.

 

[jamie]

Yes the governments need to step up..and I think solar technologies etc should be made widely available by now..but $$ talks far to much.

Another thing I see that dissapoints me is the lack of gardens in peoples yards..I see houses everywhere with nothing but a big lawn of grass..This place would be much more beautiful and sustainable if everyone took some initiative and had some food and herb gardens..and appartment building could all have rooftop community gardens and garden on the ground level as well. Hopefully this becomes a design norm in the future..There are types of plants that can be grown on the roofs as well to act as insulation in the winter.

I have been growing my own vegetables and fruits every summer for the last 2 years in a tiny littel garden..you dont need THAT much room really..I just make use the the lateral space with stakes and lattaces..I had soo many tomatoes this year from a rediculously small area.

There are so many things people can do..but the governments need to help out as well. I live 5 minutes away from one of the biggest bogs in north america that is close to an urban area..it's very dense rainforest and undereath it is an underground lake..Hard to explain how peat bogs work but this place is the lungs of vancouver..it cleans our air. The greater vancouver district decided that this would be a great place for the city dump..so now at the far end of the bog they made a dump for all the garbage of vancouver(thank god I am at the clean end)..About half of the bog has now been protected as a nature preserve..but it's not enough..we NEED this whole forest to stay intact..but now they are planning to put a new highway through it to reduce traffic so that trucks can easily come and go from the ports along the Fraser river.. They will also be forcing farmers to sell their land along the edges of the bog for part of the road..or else they will have highway through their fields..but the government is only offering a portion of what the land is worth, and noone else would buy land that is doomed to have a highway oing through it..and the community needs the farm land to grow the food..or else move and cut down more forest for the farms..

This highway will cut right though areas of the bog that are home to many animals, including black bears, and they are saying it's okay becasue they will simply built an overpass for the animals to cross to the other side of the forest!

It's such a horrible and stupid idea..these people have no idea of the important of peat bogs and what it does for this city..but as long as the $ is there people like to remain blind.

 

[Virola78]

It is hard to stay optimistic. Because I feel like a may fly.
Perhaps the love for our kids can make a difference.
Reminds me of that girl..

 

[Virola78]

Or perhaps the discovery of extraterrestrial life...
that would offer a new perspective, context

 

[ms_manic_minxx]

Fractal, the Rainforest Action Network has HUGE campaigns... for both the rainforests... and the old growth forests in BC!! I know sending money sounds like a distant thing, but if you are interested in donations, I would recommend checking them out. They have an awesome record of actually accomplishing things (unlike some charities with CEOs raking in 6-7 figures ).

I also try to live my life in a way where I cause as LITTLE harm as possible (I still have to drive a car, but it's to a job where I am saving much more carbon, trees, animals, and people in the long run).

I won't tell anyone what to do or not to do. But, if you are concerned, I would say, look at what the forests are being cleared for... and then find ways to get those products OUT of your life!! (RAN provides a lot of great info for this as well.) Vote with your dollars!

Do what you can, when you can, the best you can. Nobody is perfect, and we're still all working together to find ways to change the infrastructure into something that works... but, at least, we ARE changing it. And remember the law of attraction, the more you put the energy of your consciousness into something, the more it will grow.

I think about the hypothetical situation of having a child who is very pissed off at the state of the world. I have to answer to this child. What will I say? What am I doing, what have I done?

Ultimately, we need collective effort... peacefully living by example changes many minds.

There is nothing more terrible than watching a tree get cut down. It makes me weep. I can't imagine being present in a forest when this happens. I have had so many ceremonies where I've wept for this... It's murder...

(I decided recently that I am TREEGAN, and am actively discouraging people from murdering trees for Christmas this year. :evil: )

 

[jamie]

Yule wreaths, not trees! haah way more sustainable..

Thanks manic_minxx I will check out RAN..
I got rid of my car years ago and refused to drive in the city...the bus is getting way to expensive though and it's going to go up even more becasue of the olympics:x so I plan on getting a small car soon..

I have never been on an airplane either and I dont plan on flying much at all other than to peru once..so I dont feel like I use much gasoline or anything..

I try to grow as much food as I can and I forage for herbs and berried all summer but I dont feel it's enough at all..I would go build a cabin somewhere on the island or up the coast a bit and live sustainably there but land is expensive..hopefully one day though.

I want to get into solar technologies when I do have my own house or cabin..and I want to do some tree planting..funny though I looked into that last year to do volunteer planting in the lower mainland and there wasnt anything happening!..it was all in the interior..seems sort of odd.

 

[TruePsychonaut]

Talking about Recycling in general,if you have anything in good condition that you want to recycle,there are people that will re-use what you don't want.This site is free to use and i have been using it for the past 3 years.Handy to know if you don't already know about it.

http://www.freecycle.org/search

:d :d :d

 

[Aegle]

Yeah this is why I dont like being a part of this society..I feel like even living in it I am helping with the destruction of this place..

I wish that the government would create more available jobs for reforestation or other environmental things instead of all these rediculous factory jobs..I feel like if I even want to make a decent wage these days I have to do some sort of destructive shit work..construction..and I have been there enough times.

I might join greenpeace.

Fractal Enchantment

I couldn't agree more, thank you for this thread as discussion sparks change in a big way. That's exactly what I'm doing! I'm applying for a position with a world renowned environmental organization this month, they have only just come to my country and they need people to organize and orchestrate their awareness programs. I really hope that i get the position as i cant live with my self day in and day out without making a difference every day. Our beautiful and precious planet is just fading away and something needs to be done about all the ignorance and destruction that is going on. I want more than anything to be a voice for the environment and to make a change in the hearts and minds of people...


Much Peace and Compassion

 

[ohayoco]

Even better than donating to Greenpeace is to use that money to help buy some acres of rainforest. Staro 'sell' acres for a few dollars ( http://www.staro.org/index.php?id=home ), they've purchased options from the government and use your money to buy the plots, and you get one assigned to you that you can name and comment on it etc, like "Nexusland" "Donated by the DMT Nexus in thanks for the Amazonian's gift to us of their sacred ayawaska" or something! I expect you can buy your own properly but I think it's better to buy it for a charity who will defend it, otherwise someone could just nab it and deforest.

And if you want to help reforest the West, this is what you can do- buy some land that's not very fertile (because we need food) but could be turned into forest. It'll be cheap, and in some countries the government may even give you grant money to plant your trees, even just for not planting crops etc. Then, have fun with friends planting trees all over it! You can visit it to care for it every now and then, it'll be a nice getaway. If you want to earn from it, you could make it productive too by keeping free range organic chickens in it- chickens can be farmed within forests, they're forest animals originally- or you could turn it into a hazel coppice, for example. Or you could turn it into your very own nature reserve (be sure to plant a good and suitable variety of trees) and use it for hunting and gathering.

Buying a bog is even better- bogs (/reed beds?) sequester more carbon than forests.

When you have your land, learn the ancient and almost-forgotten Amazonian art of creating Terra Preta- this soil locks carbon, is self-renewing and more fertile than regular soil. You could even learn this for your garden, however small, even your pot plants could benefit from it. Wikipedia for more info, here too Terra Preta de Indio .

Doing stuff like this will transform your despair into joy