“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
I’ll admit, I was a little taken aback today when Ashley stopped me from telling a personal story that I felt related to the topic of discussion. I tried to bring in an example of disease in trees that I had seen, and relate it to how Aldo Leopold felt about the diseases of trees in his woodlot. Now, I understand why she stopped me. Not only was I not clearly explaining myself, but the situation I was talking about was far more complicated than I understood. I didn’t do my research. Now, here is my attempt to redeem myself. (No offense taken, Ashley, I’m glad you made me more aware of myself)
So, story made simple and short, I went to Breckenridge, Colorado this summer. Breckenridge is surrounded by Lodge Pole pines, all of which are dead or dying from a species of beetles known as Mountain Pine Beetles. This mass death of trees has resulted in a high scare of forest fire.
Now, the connection: Leopold said “…I realized that I had bought almost as many tree diseases as I had trees.” Now, immediately the reader thinks “oh, dam, that’s a bummer.” Then, he proceeds to justify the diseases by saying “But it soon became clear that these same diseases made my woodlot a mighty fortress, unequaled in the whole county.” With numerous examples, he explains how a disease is part of the natural cycle, providing shelter through fallen oak branches to grouse, supplying insects as food to the chickadees, and offering a nesting place for the prothonotary warbler. He is saying that he is thankful for the disease, and he is indirectly suggesting that the word disease has a negative connotation that should be ignored.
So, in summary, disease is as much part of the design of nature as is any natural process. And remember, as McDonough and Braungart said, “Nature doesn’t have a design problem, People do.”
As for Breckenridge, believe it or not, the Mountain Pine Beetles are not an invasive species, according to an article titled “Pine Beetles Continue Killing Spree of Western Trees.” (I found this article at www.redorbit.com, but I cannot find the author of the article). The article then explains how these beetles are actually a part of the regeneration process of Lodge Pole Pines. These pines apparently produce a hard cone that will not open up and release its seed without the heat of a fire to help it. So, the beetles kill the trees, the dry trees end up succumbing to forest fire, and the cones open up and allow for a new generation of Lodge Pole Pines to grow.
People do not like fire. Fire would be too dangerous near our houses. We have put ourselves on a pedestal above the natural processes of nature, and we do everything in our capability to control them. So, we do everything we can to stop forest fire, and we are very good at it. In fact, we are so good at it that now we have all of these dead pines that haven’t been burned, and we have these beetles reproducing rapidly without any bounds to keep their population in check. The result: a brown landscape, void of green pine trees, and full of useless, dead wood.
Now, how do we fix this? We can’t just light a fire and let it destroy our houses. Even controlled burns are too scary for the fire department at this point. But, sooner or later, a lightning bolt will hit a tree, and it will light on fire, and our fire department will be out there frantically trying to protect our homes. I believe that now it is appropriate to use the phrase “We’re Fucked,” that is used so often under the topic of environmental issues. We’re fucked because we try to control it too much. We try to stop fires to save our homes, and we try to stop diseases because for some reason we value the life of a pretty tree more than the life of a beetle. We are the moral police of the environment, and it often times gets us into trouble because people speak before they do their research (cough*me*cough).
Third Weekly Statement
ReplyDeleteJim Christian
9/29/09
I’ll admit, I was a little taken aback today when Ashley stopped me from telling a personal story that I felt related to the topic of discussion. I tried to bring in an example of disease in trees that I had seen, and relate it to how Aldo Leopold felt about the diseases of trees in his woodlot. Now, I understand why she stopped me. Not only was I not clearly explaining myself, but the situation I was talking about was far more complicated than I understood. I didn’t do my research. Now, here is my attempt to redeem myself. (No offense taken, Ashley, I’m glad you made me more aware of myself)
So, story made simple and short, I went to Breckenridge, Colorado this summer. Breckenridge is surrounded by Lodge Pole pines, all of which are dead or dying from a species of beetles known as Mountain Pine Beetles. This mass death of trees has resulted in a high scare of forest fire.
Now, the connection: Leopold said “…I realized that I had bought almost as many tree diseases as I had trees.” Now, immediately the reader thinks “oh, dam, that’s a bummer.” Then, he proceeds to justify the diseases by saying “But it soon became clear that these same diseases made my woodlot a mighty fortress, unequaled in the whole county.” With numerous examples, he explains how a disease is part of the natural cycle, providing shelter through fallen oak branches to grouse, supplying insects as food to the chickadees, and offering a nesting place for the prothonotary warbler. He is saying that he is thankful for the disease, and he is indirectly suggesting that the word disease has a negative connotation that should be ignored.
So, in summary, disease is as much part of the design of nature as is any natural process. And remember, as McDonough and Braungart said, “Nature doesn’t have a design problem, People do.”
As for Breckenridge, believe it or not, the Mountain Pine Beetles are not an invasive species, according to an article titled “Pine Beetles Continue Killing Spree of Western Trees.” (I found this article at www.redorbit.com, but I cannot find the author of the article). The article then explains how these beetles are actually a part of the regeneration process of Lodge Pole Pines. These pines apparently produce a hard cone that will not open up and release its seed without the heat of a fire to help it. So, the beetles kill the trees, the dry trees end up succumbing to forest fire, and the cones open up and allow for a new generation of Lodge Pole Pines to grow.
People do not like fire. Fire would be too dangerous near our houses. We have put ourselves on a pedestal above the natural processes of nature, and we do everything in our capability to control them. So, we do everything we can to stop forest fire, and we are very good at it. In fact, we are so good at it that now we have all of these dead pines that haven’t been burned, and we have these beetles reproducing rapidly without any bounds to keep their population in check. The result: a brown landscape, void of green pine trees, and full of useless, dead wood.
Now, how do we fix this? We can’t just light a fire and let it destroy our houses. Even controlled burns are too scary for the fire department at this point. But, sooner or later, a lightning bolt will hit a tree, and it will light on fire, and our fire department will be out there frantically trying to protect our homes. I believe that now it is appropriate to use the phrase “We’re Fucked,” that is used so often under the topic of environmental issues. We’re fucked because we try to control it too much. We try to stop fires to save our homes, and we try to stop diseases because for some reason we value the life of a pretty tree more than the life of a beetle. We are the moral police of the environment, and it often times gets us into trouble because people speak before they do their research (cough*me*cough).
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