To members of the Forest List, > I am rather stunned by the tone and content of Mr. Wong's comments. I must > challenge his notion that calling for a study of the impacts of the > wood-chipping industry is equivalent to saying that wood chips should not > be produced at all. He makes this claim by stating that we would have no > paper and wood pulp and, consequently, no paper for books and magazines. I > would challenge Mr. Wong to show us the logic in this assertion. The only > way this makes sense is if he suspects/knows that studying the ecological > impacts of wood chipping would lead to the end of the industry, and if this > is so, I would be very interested in the reasons behind this suspicion. I think Dr. Graham Whyte, other esteemed list members & myself have made our points very clear. We are not in the business to make Mr. Keith Forbes happy. > Also, the attack on ALL environmental organizations is rather uncalled for > and uninformed. There are numerous researchers and technologists in these > organizations and I would advise Mr. Wong to look over the composition of > these organizations before making such crass comments. Mr. Forbes could perhaps do himself a favor by reading a recent article on this subject matter from the ENN. It stated that industries are prepared to work with NGOs. However, only some are capable technically in that manner. RAN was named as one of those least capable of working with industries. > Finally, the onus is very much not upon environmentalists to be able to > communicate with the business world in business terms, but the DUTY of > business people or anyone who pursues possibly environmentally damaging > land uses to explain the impacts to society. I think Mr. Wong feels that > environmentalists are annoying stumbling blocks to business, but business > people create their own stumbling blocks when they regard their profits as > more important than the environment which belongs to us all. Now really? Perhaps Mr. Forbes has not thought through the certification issue surrounding forestry, as well as the call for a global forestry convention, before he made such a condescending conclusion. The environment belongs to nobody. We are all stewards of the environment here on this little blue marble. As someone who had worked as a QC technician in an oil refinery before. One of my functions was to test & monitor industrial effluent. I know the commitment businesses have towards the environment. It's incredulous for Mr. Forbes to paint ALL businesses with the same broad brush he accused me of using! Last but not least, if NGOs are not willing/prepared to keep the channels of communication with businesses open. Don't blame businesses if they decide to stop listening. It has to be a 'win-win' situation. God bless. Nelson Wong
Mail converted by
MHonArc 1.1.0