There's a basic kind of tension here. It's between those who say, I'd like to clear cut this forest and reduce it to saw timber because that's an economically productive thing for me to do.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
There's a general culture in this country to cut all the trees. It makes me so angry because everyone is cutting and no one is planting.
If I have my way, I'm going to dissolve the Forest Service. They're in the business of harvesting trees and they're not harvesting trees, so why have them anymore?
Most people know that forests are the lungs of our planet, literally playing a critical role in every breath we take. And that they're also home to incredible animals like the orangutan and elephant, which will go extinct if we keep cutting down their forests.
Look at timber prices in the late '90s, at around $50. If you count the true damage of cutting down forests, the resultant flooding, insurance claims, and so on, then the timber price should have been $100.
Sometimes it's best to speak from ignorance: that way, you can see the wood without being distracted by the trees.
Reversing deforestation is complicated; planting a tree is simple.
Reject what you don't want. Get rid of dead wood.
The silencing of the rainforests is a double deforestation, not only of trees but a deforestation of the mind's music, medicine and knowledge.
If you manage to stop the timber industry from cutting this forest, they'll cut that forest. If you stop oil drilling here, they'll go drill there.
If you cut down a forest, it doesn't matter how many sawmills you have if there are no more trees.