8 - Sunday, December 17, 1989 — North Shere News “SHARE B.C." COLUMN Urban environmentalists slammed Dear Editor: Bob Hunter’s column of Dec. 6 contained a weaith of misinformation, bias and showed a_ trendy awareness of what is fashionable in today’s en- vironmentally elite scene. Yes, rural bashing is in. City types drive sedately through rural areas in their BMWs, on the way to the ski slope (that was clear-cut for their enjoyment) and cluck their tongues at the waste and carnage left behind by industry. After an enjoyable day skiing and relaxing in the chalet around a crackling wood fire, they return to their highrise apartment in downtown Vancouver, park their car where a forest used to grow, and relax inside the happy home, surrounded by cornfortable wood furniture, while reading the North Shore News (printed on wood products). ..-Yeah, those blue collar logger-types are sure Neanderthals. Look what they are doing to the forests and, Ethel, do you Know how much money they make? Heck! A lot of them never even graduated from high schoo! and they make almost as muck as me. What good is an education if some cement head out in the bush (merely because fre risks his life everyday facing steep rugged country, rain pouring down various cracks in his anatomy, and has a short work year, not to mention twisted ankles and knees, while being away from his family for long stress-related periods of time) can make that kind of bread. It just isn’t fair. Must be those big unions jacking things up. We work hard in the city and like to look at pretty scenery. Let’s stop clear cutting, or better yet all logg- ing and train those loggers as touristry workers. Put them in their place. They should be able to feed their families on minimum wage. After all, we all have to sacrifice for the good of the environment.... This may sound like an exaggeration of urbai: bias, but from my experience it is not. We all have to make a living and we all share in the responsibility of saving the planet for our children. IWA-Canada has developed a new forest policy in which sustainable development is recognized and em- phasized. Many forestry workers have resided in their respec- tive rural communities for 20 or more years. They have a right to be considered a part of the equation, before a group of city-types in tuxedos pass sentence. I was at the Share B.C. conference mentioned in your column, Mr. Hunter — where were you? In my opinion there are not a finer, broader-based group of people than in the Share groups. They not only share in their moderate and sensible approach to the environment, but they share freeiy of their time and effort. Maybe you should get to know them before you pass judgment. As a director of the British Columbia Environmen- tal Institute, I am pleased to announce that we now have over 30 rural municipalities which are members. We support the concept of Share groups and feel that groups of this type are vital to the survival of many rural areas in B.C. M. Cantelon Business Agent/Warden, IWA-Canada, Loca! 1-71 Vice-President BCEI Hunter’s comments ‘hysterical’ Dear Editor: It is quite amazing the amount of vituperative comment Bob Hunter can pour forth over some-, thing he knows nothing about. His column attacking the Share B.C. conference held last month in Chilliwack is an excellent case in point. From his ivory tower Mr. Hunt- er has taken aim at 200 people - from over 40 B.C. communities Get the facts, Mr. Hunter Dear Editor: Regarding Bob Hunter’s Dec. 6 column on the Share B.C. con- ference. Quit your rhetoric, Mr. Hunter. Get the facts. Look at some of those reforested hillsides and marvel at the lushness of new growth. If you want to find stunted trees I’m sure they are there (just as there are irresponsible journalists in the reporting world), but I can assure you that the percentage of stunted trees is of an insignificant nature, when compared to the warped and stunted minds of sup- posedly responsible media person- nel. If you want to see a “plucked turkey’ take a look at the hillside along Sproat Lake, where a forest fire left hundreds of hectares of dead trees. Then imagine what the scene would have been like had there not been a forest industry on hand to fight this fire. So few people in major urban areas have any appreciation of the significant beneficial impact which the forest industry has upon their way of life. I sincerely hope the governments are able to weigh these major benefits against the implications of winning short-term votes by capitulating to that vocal minority who resort to emotional warfare tactics to drive home a selfish belief. I, along with Mr. Morton (who Mr. Hunter so eloquently criti- cizes), feel that the road from Port Alberni to Ucluelet contains some of the most magnificent scenery on Vancouver Island. I ask your readers to imagine the same winding drive through a and stripped them clean of their dignity. All this and Hunter wasn't even there, he was in Toronto. Had he attended Share B.C., Hunter’s hysterical comments, though no less repugnant, would have been lent the credibility of his having looked the people he chose to defame in the face. Had he at- tended Share B.C., Hunter might even have learned a thing or two about the people in rural canopy of old growth forests, with nothing visible of the mountains and rivers. Would 100 kilometres of such repetitive (albeit attractive) scenery have been the answer that everyone was seeking? Should we have permitted a road at all? Perhaps people should be banned from the equation altogether, after all, they change the ecosystem at every footfall. Geoff Lyons Ucluelet Your home is more than just a ‘piece’ of veal estate ... it’s your future! resource-dependent communities in this province. Hunter would have met the men and women who harvest and renew B.C.’s forest zesources. He would have met ranchers and miners and small-town business people. He would have met a way of life and shook hard calloused hands. He would have looked into eyes as steady and keen as a back country morning. And he would have had conver- sation — lots of it. Conversation about what it’s like to make a small town work and balance the changing values of a largely urban world with the needs of rural communities. Had he attended Share B.C., Hunter would have heard a lot about solutions to resource con- flicts and sustainability from the people who make it happen every working day with their hands and with all their heart, and without one ounce of his patented cynicism. 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