Barbara Walters reveals past affair with U.S. senator

[Van]

Sportsdude wrote:

Big thing over here (on the island) is the clear cutting of the trees (trees are more important then people, really, people don't live 1,000s of years).

Clayoquot Sound is a national shame, but hey when most of the land on the Island isn't crown lands, so its free reign apparently.

Please teach us, oh wise one...on forest, parks, crown land issues of British Columbia....
    EDIT: don't mind me, I been working my butt off this week...didn't mean to snap at you again.

[Sportsdude]

  No biggie, I just got that info from a b.c parks/ forestry worker and the chair of forestry mgmt at school, probably should have clarified that. From what I've been told/read Crown land has more protection and rules while private doesn't. Would you know?
But I knew about Clayqout Sound years ago, the whole world does...
   

[Michel]

     

[Sportsdude]

 That they're clear cutting right up to the Pacific Rim Park, these trees are old growth 1,000s of years old.
Kennedy Provincial Park the giant lake, you can see a whole mountain side gone.

[a href="vny!://www.focs.ca/"]vny!://www.focs.ca/[/a]

Apparently they've started mining as well. Only thing I seem to get miltant about these days is environmentalism.
   

[Michel]

     

[Sportsdude]

Well the even more sickening part of it is that the logs are clear cutted, and that they don't go to homes or anything but magazines and newspapers. (most of the trees in the north of the island apparently go to become newspapers in San Francisco, the big smelly plant in CR is apparently for paper). But these logs don't even come into the local communities, they get shipped down to Seattle. So the logging and stupid destruction for no reason except for the reason that they can, continues while pulp mills close everywhere on the Island.  

[Michel]

   

[Sportsdude]

I've always wanted to mock the political bumper stickers of my home town. So I was bored some weekend thought of pro-tree slogans using the extreme right stickers you see with every other car for the most part back 'home'.

"Its a Tree not a clear cut"
"Save life, save a tree"
"Stop murdering our future"
"Against the destruction of Trees"

and so on.
lol


 

[Michel]

     

[Sportsdude]

hahaha.
Only a bumper sticker like that would come from the West Coast. brilliant.
 

[Van]

Sportsdude wrote:
Well the even more sickening part of it is that the logs are clear cutted, and that they don't go to homes or anything but magazines and newspapers. (most of the trees in the north of the island apparently go to become newspapers in San Francisco, the big smelly plant in CR is apparently for paper). But these logs don't even come into the local communities, they get shipped down to Seattle. So the logging and stupid destruction for no reason except for the reason that they can, continues while pulp mills close everywhere on the Island.  
  You are partly right. That being said, don't believe everything you hear or read. Especially propaganda from FOC. Don't get me wrong, it is absolutely amazing. I just don't always believe twisted so called "facts". Whether it be Left or Right.

That smelly plant in CR is a pulp mill. Pulp mills are built for one reason, to make paper. (PG's smell makes CR smell like roses HA!)...

SOME of the logs are shipped directyly to the USA, some to Japan, etc. I know, it doesn't make sense to me either. But to say every log is being used to make paper for readership in the USA is false. The paper market is actually doing better than the lumber market for about 5 years now. Not much building going on stateside, and yes, BC mills ship about 95% of their finished lumber to the USA. Lumber companies will continue to ship lumber, even at a profit loss, so they don't lose their parcelled land that has been 'claimed' by the forest companies.  Sawmills across North America are taking a beating these days, stateside, Quebec, BC, etc.

I can only speak for the BC industry, because I grew up in this province and have a lot of family and friends involved in the industry since my great grandpa came to BC. Crappy market conditions, poor logging practices, pine beetle (in the interior), and ridiculous union wages paying some fat ass $35.00/hr to push a button will kill most of what is left of the forest industry. It will never die completely, but it will never be the giant it was in the 50s - 80s.

  Hemp and tourism, BC's only real solution! Oh, and fruit, and wine....and mountain biking..ok, mountain biking isn't an industry..but come on! It rules!  

[Sportsdude]

Thanks so much Van. )) I'm lacking in knowledge in this area. My knowledge is more on farm related issues due to my back family background, so logging and Pacific Northwest issues are foreign to me. Thanks for the info, greatly appreciated. )  

[Van]

One thing to add: Any person with a skill or trade in the forest industry such as welders, carpenters, should do alright in finding work if they are let go from the industry. It is, like I say, the workers that push the ON/OFF/CUT...buttons that are going to have a hard time. Sawmill/Pulp Mill work could be done by Kindergarten students. No offence to anyone working in a sawmill, but it is the truth. The same guys with 3 kids, a large house, 2 ski-dos, RV, trucks, quads...30-40 years and no skill, but made a great wage. They got so used to the money, it became second nature. Now, what do they do? They guys not ready for retirement, but have been in the industry a few decades.

Hey, reminds me of an uncle of mine...

  Nice! We took the original topic and turned it once again...DS is cool!

[Sportsdude]

hahaha everything either turns into something political or SEX.
lol

I read in the paper a Northern California plant is recruiting laid off people up here.
 

[Van]

I think it is definately hit and miss wherever you go. Oregon's forest industry is becoming devastated.

Then there is places like Elko, BC where they are expanding operations, yet most operations in BC haved downsized, or shut down all together. Doesn't effect me too much. I just hope people can retrain and adjust.

  Is Northern California recruiting sawmill or pulp mill workers? Or skilled forest technicians and engineers? To work in a saw/pulp mill, there really isn't skill to bring.

Push button ON, Push button OFF, Push SAW button...turn off SAW...clean up..coffee break...

There is also jobs like keeping lumber straight so production runs smoothly. You should tour a sawmill in BC, very interesting.