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Hi David P and all, Feb 28, 2015
I would hate to think that Naturens is in any way responsible for =
various unfortunate actions of governments. But some of our traffic may =
be monitored. For example, in late January I complained about not having =
enough snow. For what it may be worth; we have had sufficient snow and =
now need a slow melt by ground heat from below.=20
Getting back to forestry, an article in the Chron. Hrld. (Feb 28) =
provides a cameo of one current slow-motion train wreck within the field =
of forestry.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1271754-nova-scotia-squanders-its-fo=
rest-resources
One may well ask how such fumbles are possible and some background =
considerations may shed some light on the question.
POLITICAL ASPECTS
Increasingly over the last 60 years politicians, of all stripes and =
at=20
all levels and with the best of intentions, have felt compelled to bribe =
Industry to either stay or to move in to provide maximum employment to =
those who live in their jurisdiction which generates taxes to hopefully =
balance the budget, pay down debt or, failing all else, to get =
reelected. And especially for this last motive the grand photo op has =
become a Holy Grail. Consequently the ribbon cutting or equivalent, to =
add or retain 1000+ jobs at one crack, is front and center of the =
typical Politician's wish list.=20
In this high-stakes poker game big Industry holds all the cards and =
our politicians feel compelled to win by throwing ever more taxpayer =
dollars into the pot until Industry is shamed into not asking for more; =
for the time being.
Of course governments ideally should never become directly involved =
in job creation but instead should focus on the regulatory, structural =
and civic framework which enable industry, individual initiative, ease =
of entering the work force, commerce and a reasonable distribution of =
wealth but the lure of the photo op and the associated survival =
insurance tends to dominate.=20
=20
Meanwhile, smaller enterprises which collectively would contribute =
far more jobs, tend to be suppressed to placate vested interests (Egg =
quotas, Broiler quotas...) or not given adequate access to resources =
(hardwood lumber) so big Industry has full power.
This process, bribing big Industry to move in or not move out, is =
symptomatic of an underlying inbalance in the economy; efficiencies =
which lead to job reductions in spite of growing consumerism.=20
So long as this state of inbalance persists one should not expect=20
industry to respect the environment if doing so will make them less =
competitive or expect government to hold them to account. Note that this =
in no way implies that either industry or government is evil. It is just =
a matter of=20
practical expediency. Both players must do whatever it takes to survive
another day.=20
Mechanization is at the heart of this inbalance. If one person can =
do the work of 60, thanks to an all purpose machine then 59, other =
things being equal, will have to be paid to not seek work (Welfare) and, =
to rub more salt in the wound, most of the revenue derived from the =
forestry resource will go elsewhere to pay for the machine.=20
As an example of over mechanization I heard about a mobile firewood =
factory which was working locally in the early 90s that, with one person =
running the machine and two driving trucks to haul split firewood to a =
nearby marshalling area, the team could fell, trim, chunk, split and =
haul 60 cord of hardwood firewood per day. About 55 years ago I walked =
through part of the area in which I understand this machine was =
operating and even then it was an impressive stand of mature hardwood; =
probably sufficient for 60 men, working with Oxen, to make a living and =
always have a reasonably intact forest.
Many current problems, including those in Forestry, can be =
characterized as good ideas gone terribly wrong because they were =
launched with no provision for monitoring and control. The pattern is =
predictable; a politician is persuaded that some initiative will be =
popular, laws are passed to e.g. mandate that diesel fuel sold in their =
country will contain at least X % of biodiesel by year Y and that =
problem being 'solved' they move on to the next agenda item. So huge =
areas of virgin tropical forest are converted to Palm Oil plantations, =
correspondingly huge amounts of carbon are released and the indigenous =
people are usually absorbed on these plantations as domesticated animals =
or just wiped out along with the other forest fauna.=20
The biomass plant in Point Tupper made a bit of sense as initially =
imagined; conversion of waste wood to electrical power that would be =
used in the paper mill. But I hear that mature hardwood in Cumberland =
and Colchester Cos. is being chipped for biomass, leading to a shortage =
of firewood and loss of potential hardwood logs for high value =
furniture. That mill, within a few years, will be kept running only with =
huge government subsidy and huge objections from Maine et al. I base =
this prediction on my understanding that amounts paid for pulpwood cover =
the cost of operating an existing harvester or an existing logging truck =
but are not sufficient to fund replacement. As equipment wears out the =
owners will move on or move out.=20
DIGRESSION
The current situation has parallels with some early stages of the =
industrial revolution in Britain; a context in which profit trumps =
everything and external control is absent or inadequate. In coal mines =
with narrow seams it was expedient to hire small women and children to =
haul carts loaded with coal from the work face to the elevators. They =
were chained to the carts, crawled on hands and knees in darkness and =
with poor ventilation and were usually naked so they could readily void =
on the crawl way. The breadwinner of the family was often the wife and =
choices available were either to work under adverse and dangerous =
conditions or condemn your family to starvation or crime. There are =
accounts, so our Economics prof told us, of women giving birth while =
hauling carts and either having to abandon the infant or, given enough =
headroom, putting it on their cart until the end of their shift. =20
END OFTHIS DIGRESSION=20
DIGRESSION #2
One should not imagine that Forestry is the only casualty of over =
mechanization. I come from a farming background and believe that there =
is no profession more noble than genuine agriculture; converting =
sunlight and elbow grease to food and fiber. But modern Industrial =
Agriculture is a perversion of the original where sows are confined to =
cages so narrow that they can neither walk nor lie down and when these =
piglet machines are deemed to be inefficient they often; being too out =
of shape, can not