Mr. Wong has called on environmental advocacy groups ("greenies," in his kind
parlance) to come to Indonesia to help fight forest fires set by agribusiness
interests clearing the rainforest to plant oil palm and rubber tree
plantations. This is a specious argument that ignores the important role
that advocacy groups play.
As an advocate myself, I would ask Mr. Wong why he thinks it's the job of
those of us trying to save forests FROM these interests to clean up the
damage they're causing? After all, those outfits have all the capital. Our
organizations are certainly not funded to fight fires. I haven't received
any donations from logging concerns or others that would enable me to engage
in such activities.
Our job in the environmental movement is to alert others to the damage
wrought by these companies, and call for restrictions. When the companies
act irresponsibly, that is entirely their fault and the fault of the
governments that permit them to act in such fashion. Let them take
responsibility for their own actions! The environmental movement will
continue seeking to find ways to keep these companies out of the rainforests
- tropical and temperate forests as well.
I hope the experience of this disaster in Indonesia may even prod the
international community to take action to control these ruthless corporate
exploiters, before more rainforests are destroyed. The NGOs surely don't
have the resources to do anything but call attention to the destruction and
seek to stop it.
I hope Mr. Wong will redirect his energies toward working to protect our
forests from the logging and agribusiness industries, rather than acting as
an apologist for them.
Sincerely,
David Orr
Pasadena, CA
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