> This has been an interesting discussion. I especially liked the poem. I'm
> less sure about the economic argument that the market for timber products
> has already internalized the environmental and social costs of logging
> practices in all parts of the world. Certainly we know that in this
> country the U.S. government provides large subsidies (in the form of roads
> built in National Forests to facilitate logging) to make an otherwise
> uneconomical practice profitable. I, too, worry that timber harvesting
> practices in the countries that are our sources for lauan, teak, mahogany,
> okoume, etc. are not "earth-friendly."

> Does anyone have any information on how these woods are actually
> harvested? I would be interested to know. I doubt that we are only
> consuming wood taken from trees that fell naturally. But it seems likely
> that much of it is grown on tree farms, which might assuage the guilty
> consciences of Lorax-like boatbuilders.

I read somewhere, a few years back, that the tree "plantations" refered to are blocks of forests given to companies by various governments around the world with little or no restriction on their management. This was a response to criticism by western nations on those countries environmental practices. If this is true, we have not realized any harvest from these "plantations" as they were set a few short years ago and these trees take hundreds of years to grow. (Translation- "Marketing Ploy".)

The other side of this coin is the fact that we did not worry too much about our own practices when it was our turn to fuel our economies on resource industries, a hundred years ago. These nations are simply trying to catch up and we jump in with our holier than thou attitude.

Life is a balance. Each one of us has to decide for his or herself what that balance is to them and live accordingly. In todays world, if we want to be informed we can be. If there is a concern about an issue get informed, make your choices, change if new information becomes available and live your life the best you can.

P.S.- Peter, if you are still feeling guilt about that boat, feel free to donate it to a worthy charity. I hear the Ian Johnston Foundation for Financially Strapped Kayak Builders is looking for donations. Send inquiries to the above E-mail address. :)