I went and watched The Lorax this weekend. The Lorax was a book I had read many times before, and had seen the original movie a few times as well. We actually watched it in one of our University Economics classes. If you haven’t seen the original movie or read the book, you should check it out. It basically goes like this:
1) An idealistic young creature known as the Once-Ler comes up with a sweet invention called a Thneed.
2) He cuts down truffula trees to make money on Thneeds.
3) He runs out of trees and the world is changed forever.
4) “Unless”, someone cares “a whole awful lot” and can bring the forest back to what it was.
The new movie (which I saw in TREE-D) basically picks up from there, when a boy DOES care enough to try and grow the forest back.
THE THNEED
The Thneed is actually a pretty cool piece of… clothing. It looks kind of like a onsie, but can also be used as a hat, scarf or like in the picture above, a privacy/warmth/concentration device when working on a laptop in public. Thneeds are made out of the leaves on truffula trees. You can make Thneeds without cutting trees down, but it doesn’t make a lot of economic sense, so it led to some pretty extreme clearcut devastation. A Thneed comparison in the real world could be anything you make out of a tree including, but not limited to, lumber products, paper, energy and kevlar vests. It would be compared to a fad item like a Beanie Baby, Pog, Tickle Me Elmo or even a Bakugon (still going!).
THE ONCE-LER
The Once-Ler is quite the rags to riches story (who looks very much like the grinch I might add). He rolls into the forest with only a wagon full of junk and an idea to his name. Once he makes the prototype version of the Thneed sales take off. He is overcome by greed and will stop at nothing to make more money. I guess he would be the old school capitalist industry member in our story. They retired guy who made a bunch of money raping and pillaging the environment before we knew any better.
THE REAL BAD GUY
O’Hare got rich when all the truffula trees got cut down and he started selling bottled air to people. This is kind of funny, because we have lots of water that comes from our tap and costs next to nothing, but we still buy the over-processed bottled water that used huge amount of plastic and energy to put into convenient little containers. Many National Parks are now making it illegal to bring disposable water containers into their borders and have set up water filling stations containing “natural” water instead. Anyways, O’Hare wants the forest to stay dead and like the the Once-Ler, just wants to make money.
THE LORAX
This fuzzy little creature speaks for the trees. He thinks cutting down trees is wrong, no matter what the benefit. I would compare him to the environmental groups of today. He’s also got a sweet moustache and enjoys marshmallows. I think me and him could be friends, but we would probably have arguments over dinner.
SIMILARITIES IN THE DR. SUESS WORLD TO OURS
Is Dr. Seuss even a doctor? Did he give himself that name? Nobody knows.
The biggest similarity in this whole movie to our world is the greed factor. People always want to make more money. The difference between the Once-Ler and forestry companies that cut down trees here, is basically that the forest companies here aren’t so shortsighted. They know that to make money forever, they need to be able to cut trees forever. To keep the rights to harvest the trees, they have to harvest them sustainably. The Once-Ler really could have used a 200 year management plans like the ones we make in Alberta. Our forest will never be devastated like the one in the Lorax.
The Lorax speaks for the trees that are alive right now. Of course those trees don’t want to die. But did you know that older truffula trees don’t produce as much oxygen as younger truffula trees? Did you also know that the old truffula trees block out all the sunlight so younger truffula trees can’t grow underneath them (I don’t know these things either, I’m just assuming they’re like our trees)? Do barbaloot bears really like looking for food in dense truffula forests or do younger truffula forests produce even more fruit? I don’t know the answer to any of these questions, but I’m guessing if the Lorax protects the trees from dying at all costs, he’s got a pretty unnaturally old forest that might not be good for some creatures. Maybe he should allow a few truffula trees to get cut down as long as the Once-Ler plants them. That would also create lots of jobs for the barbaloot bears and humming fish.
IN SUMMARY
In The Lorax the most memorable quote is, “UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not”. That’s what you should be taking away from this movie. Not that deforestation, bottled water, or Thneeds are bad. That’s why I got into forestry. I do care an awful lot and don’t want to see animals, trees, soils, water or air damaged. You can make a difference too. Find your place amongst the environmental managers in the forest industry. The people that make the management suggestions in our forests (over 60% of Alberta is forested!) work for forest companies. Get involved and do what you can to speak for the trees (both living and not yet born). I really don’t think the Lorax has the perfect solution, but I bet the Lorax (environmental groups, foresters, biologists, etc), the Once-Ler and even O’Hare (industry leaders) could have made a pretty deadly team and made Thneeds, provided air and still maintain a healthy truffula forest.
Also, I love humming fish and barbaloot bears. This movie was great.