4 - Wednesday, March 22, 1990 - North Shore News PASSIONS RULE when it comes to trees. Trees, as a mat- ter of fact, are emerging as the central ecological image of the decade, replacing the whale and even the seal. George Bush talks about plant- ing billions of them. Michael Wilson was even — for a while — thinking about planting a billion or so. McDonald’s is into it: the surest sign of all. Serious environmental organiza- tions like the World Watch In- stitute calculate that an area the size of Europe would have to be reforested to balance the amount of pollutants going into the at- mosphere in a single year. But still, it’s a solution. And if we can denude whole continents, why not turn them green again? Everybody knows we could do it if we wanted. How better to heal poor, ecologically-ravished Eastern Europe? The lowly, commonplace tree has been revealed as not only the most vulnerable part of the planetary biosphere (the lungs, no less!), but also has been shown to be the main solution to the prob- lem of the greenhouse effect. Trees soak up carbon dioxide, transmuting it into oxygen. In old-world mythologies, trees were usually depicted as having magical powers. Not a bad description, re- ally. Also, the idea of growing them Johnny Appleseed-like to counter the effect of the burning of the rainforests and the spewing of chemicals into the atmosphere is the essence of a wonderful low- tech, soft-energy path — a biolog- ical solution rather than a technical fix. An amazing number of people now understand this perfectly. Thus, trees have been virtually re-deified, certainly re-sanctified, in our secular society. This is what loggers are up against today. From the point of view of plan- ners and politicians faced with the reality of trying to change a society they, too, can see drifting toward ecological disaster, the beauty of the tree-planting solution is that it is a piece of cake, compared to try- ing to fundamentally change cen- turies-old industrial habits. Well, of course, it isn’t actually that easy, is it? Otherwise, reforestation projects wouldn’t so consistently have fallen behind ex- pectations. It is this seemingly in- exorable net loss of forest across Canada (and the world) that has, at the eleventh hour, prompted a sweeping change in public at- titudes. Historians will look back on the 1980s as the decade when the tide of forest destruction finally reach- ed its peak. The 1990s will almost certainly be seen as the time when the tide Javcanmanve MORTH VAN F-A-S-T COLLISION REPAIRS | CALL THE PROFESSIONALS AT “TAVLORMOTIVE™ 1959 LTD. FREE RENTAL COURTESY CARS B.C.A.A. APPROVED — A.R.A. CERTIFIED 1.C.B.C. VENDOR FOR ALL MAKES QUALITY WORKMANSHIP TRUSTWORTHY SERVICE 174 PEMBERTON AVE. consui TATION OR APPOINTMENTS began to ebb. That is, the cutting of trees will become immensely more politically difficult and ex- pensive. Short of a complete sell- out to Japan, British Columbia will start treating its forests with the ecological value-added stature they deserve. The forest industry knows it. In the face of dwindling membership, the IWA doesn’t want to face it. And the poor NDP is torn by it. Fascinating as the division in the NDP'’s ranks is over the fate of our forests, it is the effect of the same green forces at work, shaking the foundations of the old logging empires, that really captures my attention. This is historic stuff! At this point, venerable Mac- Millan Bloedel, for instance, re- minds me of nothing so much as a tottering East Bloc Communist state suddenly finding itself under seige from below. [ don't think the comparison is overblown, either. There was a penetrating article in The Globe’s Report on Business recently in which writer Keith Watt observed that MacBlo ‘‘has been on the defensive since the mid 1980s. “The company that almost in- vented logging in British Colum- bia,”’ he added, ‘* could find its precious forest tenure being chip- ped away by politicians reacting to an increasingly agitated elector- ate... “Either the province will force the company to meet new, tougher government regulations, or it will take back that land tenure which has been MacMillan Bloedel’s life- blood since the 1950s.”’ The largest holder of tree farm licences in the province can no longer count on the kind of automatic political support it got under the Bennett dynasty. Bill Vander Zalm has already noticed the green tint to the polls, and is distancing himself from the cabal of foresters who have left so much of the province’s once-tush countryside clear-cut, slash-burned and saturated with herbicides, an ecological No-Man’s Land. Recognizing that public percep- tions have a-changed, Fletcher Challenge, the New Zealand in- terloper, has demonstrated a degree of contrition by agreeing to a one-year moratorium on logging in the Stein. But the monster that H.R. MacMillan created ‘‘lumbers’’ ahead, its hungry corporate eye fixed on the priceless, magnificent old-growth Douglas fir in the Carmanah Valley and Clayoquot Sound. When will MacBlo ever learn? 985-7455 NV man jailed for thefts, B&Es A 23-YEAR-OLD North Van- couver man was sentenced Feb. 28 in North Vancouver provincial court to a total of three months in jail for various theft and break-in charges. Maurice Roland Therrien plead- ed guilty to attempted theft over $1,000 in connection with a Feb. 26 incident in which a black 1982 Honda motorcycle was stolen. In relation to the same_ incident, Therrien was charged with posses- sion of break-in instruments: a screwdriver, a drill and a pair of pliers. He also pleaded guilty to a charge stemming from a break-in and theft at a North Vancouver commercial premise between April 8, 1989 and April 11, 1989. Appearing before Judge B.E. Bastin, Therrien was ordered to serve two three-month jail sentences concurrently. And on March 5 in West Van- couver provincial court, Therrien was sentenced to another one- month jail term to be served con- currently with his other sentences after he pleaded guilty to theft of a Porsche in connection with a Jan. 18 incident. OPEN FIRES BANNED iN THE CITY OF NORTH VANCOUVER The Council of the Corporation of the City of North Vancouver adopted Bylaw No. 6082 on February 5, 1990 which bans open burning in the City of North Vancouver. This bylaw, with two minor exceptions, eliminates incinerator burning and the backyard burning which took place in the Spring and Fail. The present permits for incinerator burning are revoked. The Council felt that a section for special occasion bonfires and necessary burning for Fire Department training be retained in the bylaw. The special occasion bonfire is by special! permit from the Fire Chief and may include bonfires for organizations such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Guides and special events that may arise from time to time. If you require further information or assistance please contact the Fire Prevention Office at 980-5021. BRUCE A. HAWKSHAW CITY CLERK *’m making a fashion statement since I lost 92 Ibs. with Mutri/System.” “IT never thought | could wear tight jeans, short skirts or anything stylish. But thanks to Nutri/System, | can. They did more than help me lose weight: they helped me develop a positive attitude. They gave my ego a real lift. 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