Did you know the UN has declared 2011 the International Year of the Forest! No? Well don’t worry. Neither do most other people. So what does this mean for the average Canadian? Apparently the Year of the Forest includes lots of cool stuff like a film festival, a website, and the coolest part of all, THE SWEETEST LOGO EVER!!! It looks like a stump with some sort of magic man standing on it. This man is obviously magic because he can make plants, animals, medicine, squiggly lines and houses float above his head. It also seems like he can control the weather, or at least rain clouds.
The Magic Man at work.
Being that it’s the year of the forest, of course David Suzuki had to have his take. Although I’m not personally the biggest fan of Mr. Suzuki’s often unscientific opinions, I do greatly appreciate the power he has to raise awareness of environmental issues. Even he, with his CONSERVE EVERYTHING NO MATTER WHAT type attitude, believes that Canadian forest management is on the way to adequacy with “new protected areas, world-class forestry practices, and promotion of environmentally sustainable Canadian Forest products in the marketplace”. David Suzuki is basically a lobbyist, and he has attempted valiantly to rally the general public to protest against whoever “logs our forests at a blistering pace”.
I will not be your valentine.
The people that have the final say in how forests of Alberta are managed are the people who work in the industry, not Mr. Suzuki, even if that’s what he would have you believe. In Alberta, for the most part, the forests have been entrusted by the Government to forest companies to manage. Companies come up with 200 year management plans and submit them to Government for approval. Their plans must include methods to monitor a set of values that were outlined by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. These values include;
1) Biological Diversity,
2) Ecosystem Productivity,
3) Soil and Water,
4) Global Ecological Cycles,
5) Multiple Benefits to Society
When I searched “multiple benefits to society” a picture of Chilliwack came up… of course.
My challenge to you is to skip the middle man (Suzuki) and make a difference in the forest yourself. If you work in the forest industry you’re the one who gets to make decisions about the above values on behalf of the public. The people who work in forestry generally work in the industry because they love the land and want to help be stewards of it. Environmental activists and Environmental Non-Government Organizations have places in our society, but if you really want to make a difference in how things are done, I think the way to do it is by working in the industry.
Work in an industry where you can make a difference, and celebrate the forest every day of EVERY year.
I’m a tree hugger at heart.