Protest Structures to Save Styx Forest by Andrew Maynard
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08.14.08
Poor Julia Butterfly Hill had to rough it in the bush when she occupied Luna, a giant redwood, for 738 days; TreeHugger favourite Andrew Maynard proposes a much more civilized way of living in tress, to save what is left of the Styx Valley Forest in Tasmania.
GLOBAL RESCUE STATION, generation 2
"Rather than inserting the structure into the canopy of a single tree,the structure is designed to attach itself to three trees thereby directly securing three trees per structure from logging. Furthermore, the surrounding trees will pose a threat to the structure if felled. Therefore a small number of structures can secure the well being of a large area of pristine wilderness."
"The Styx Valley Forest is a pristine wilderness in south western Tasmania. It is home to the tallest hardwood trees in the world averaging over 80 metres. It is a unique ecosystem unlike any other. Many of the trees are over 400 years old. In 1996 only around 13% of these trees remain. A large area of south western Tasmania's pristine wilderness is world heritage and is therefore protected. Unfortunately the Styx Valley falls just outside the South West National Park and it is now under attack from logging companies.
The logging companies clear fell such areas in Tasmania and burn any remnant vegetation once they have removed any timber considered of value. The high quality timbers that are then removed are reduced to nothing more than wood chips that are then exported mainly to Japan.
From this rape and pillage of Tasmania's previously untouched, pristine landscape, Tasmania receives only AUD$10 per ton of woodchips." ::Andrew Maynard via :Cube Me
More Maynard in TreeHugger:
Andrew Maynard's Suburb-Eating Robots :
Andrew Maynard's Corb 2.0: Archigram Reborn
Poop House by Andrew Maynard
BOB Gets Around: Andrew Maynard's Mobile Home
More TreeHouses in TreeHugger
Living Treehouse
O2 Sustainability Treehouse
Efficient Australian Tree House
Sybarite's Modular Tree Dwelling
Wooden Treehouses from Tree Blocks
Why are they cutting down ancient hardwood trees to use as pulpwood (hence the chipping up)? That's what we use the fast-growing softwoods for (and we could theoretically be getting the majority of our pulp from recycled fiber, with just a small input of virgin fiber to replace the fibers that have gotten too short to reuse, but that is an argument for another time). The logging industry does have a few valid arguments in its defense--there is a need for lumber, and often a sustainably managed forest area that undergoes periodic logging is spared from development. Furthermore, I don't know if the claim that these trees are being chipped up is true or simply a touch of artistic license to make the situation seem even more of an outrage. However, if that is truly the fate of these magnificently huge trees, those loggers have got to be the stupidest and most shortsighted I've ever heard of.
Large hardwood trees should be used to make large timbers, beams, and furniture and cabinetry. You get way more money for the trees this way, rather than if you just turned them into paper. If this is poor quality timber, the loggers should leave it alone, as it has more value through tourism or recreation. If the market is already glutted with hardwood, again, leave the trees alone. Imagine a giant redwood being turned into toothpicks! Sure, that's a lot of toothpicks, but toothpicks are cheap. The same redwood could be used to build a barn, or a porch on a house that would be impervious to rot. A piece of intact hardwood timber has an amount of value added that no pulpwood can match.
But if you think this is bad... just wait until cellulosic ethanol really gets going. Some smart guy is going to start turning pulpwood into ethanol, and then we'll have another substandard and shortsighted use for magnificent, slow-growing trees like this.
The structure is made out of wood. That makes sense. Protest everyone else for cutting down trees. But, it's okay for you use wood from trees that were cut down.
Maybe the commenter above can't tell the difference between ancient redwoods and sustainable young wood lots. I suppose he is talking about the pain that any felled tree feels.