Rosewood - Rain Forests - Emotions - Eco-Activists - Truth (Sorta Long)

[Guest guest]

A post I made to this News Group on 24 March 2007 I have modified it

as bit in order to include information that was not applicable when

this post was made. Butch

 

Hey y'all,

 

It's been kind of quiet on the list lately. I believe that we learn

more when we can have discussions and hear from folks who have

different opinions on controversial subjects that impact this industry

... like this one. We don't learn much from emotional argument but we

do learn when the opposing opinion comes from one who has looked at

both sides of an issue and is capable of being convinced that maybe

the other person might be partially right .. or .. who can show the

other person why they think they are wrong .. its all about

influencing and trying to change opinions.

 

So .. feel free to fire away at my opinions but please do so in a

manner that has a possibility of convincing me I am wrong. ;-)

 

Like most posts I make, this one is long .. and it might bore some

folks .. but I feel a need to make it and those who read it are

welcome to comment.

 

Never have I had much tolerance for extremists .. matters not which

side of an issue they are on. I have always tried to stay pretty

close to the middle of the road so I could examine both sides at the

same time.

 

One of the many things I dislike about extremists is that the majority

of them are not willing to hear the ideas of those who disagree with

them .. some even insult or threaten .. sometimes kill .. those who do

not think as they do. That pisses me off .. so I guess its fair to

say that I am pissed off at most of the extremists. I know folks who

are hard core Democrats or hard core Republicans .. many of them

believe that those who don't vote as they did are idiots. Considering

that most of the American elections are pretty much 50-50, if they are

right then we have a population that contains at least 50% idiots.

 

There are some extremists who are wise enough to avoid peeing in

everyone else's mess kit. Those I can tolerate because they don't

interfere with my personal life, liberty or mental processes.

 

Then we have those like Chrissie Wildwood (mentioned in a previous

post). Such folks piss me off and they drive

me to work even harder to prove their position is not a solid one.

 

Those who have been around a while know that I have always tried to

tell the other side of the story regarding Mysore Sandalwood and

Rosewood. I have many, many articles discussing these oils in the

List Archive.

 

Long have I heard from certain circles that there is no Mysore now as

its been banned from export for years .. hawg warsh this is fer'shur.

On the other side .. are the activists screaming that the world is

going to come to an end if we don't embargo sales of this Mysore that

the other fellers are saying doesn't exist in the first place. ;-)

 

Then we have some who claim that we must embargo sales of Rosewood

because sale of this oil is one of the causes of the Brazilian Rain

Forests being decimated. That too is hawg warsh .. there is not a

single stretch of Rain Forest in Brazil that has been destroyed for

the purpose of going in after a Rosewood Tree(s). And even some of

the extremists who are calling for a ban on sale of Rosewood oil admit

that such a ban would not stop the destruction of the Rain Forests ..

but apparently they are of the opinion that if we all hold hands on

top of the hill and sing " We Are The World " , then all the misguided

politicians and greedy loggers will suddenly realize the error of

their ways and stop cutting trees in Brazil.

 

Recognize also .. that of the many varieties of Rosewood trees being

felled, only a very small number (the Aniba roseodora) are distilled

for Rosewood Essential Oil. The other Rosewood trees are valuable

because they are great for making guitars, expensive furniture and

classy coffins for the wealthy. Its not cool to embargo the guitar

pickers so maybe we should do what some so called Progressives want to

do .. embargo the wealthy! Wait a minute .. that ain't too cool

either cause its them folks that are paying the salaries for most of

us normal folks. 8-)

 

The number one reason for loss of Rain Forest is commercial logging.

But its not Aniba roseodora Rosewood trees that they are after .. they

are not the main variety of tropical hardwood found in the forest ..

the Rosewood tree is just a victim of " collateral damage. "

 

Logging operations are a major source of employment for the Brazilian

locals and export of these trees is one of the main sources of revenue

for the government of Brazil.

 

A second reason for destruction of Rain Forest is to clear land for

grazing animals and subsistence farming. Brazilian peasants are poor

folks .. generally. The amount of arable land in Brazil is 6.93% ..

permanent food/feed crops are grown on less than 1.0% of that land.

Problems farmers face are recurring droughts and floods .. they get it

from both ends. They need and they want more farmland. The law on

forests in Brazil is similar to the law in Turkey and in many other

developing countries .. if a forest burns down then it can be used for

farming land by squatters. It does not take a rocket scientist to

conclude that satellite photos show that there is no shortage of fires

in Brazil . The big difference between the practices in Brazil and

Turkey is that Turkey still follows the guidance of the long dead

Father of Modern Turkey .. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who said that a

nation's wealth can be found in its children and its natural

resources, so Turkey has long had an outstanding program of

reforestation. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of young trees are

grown on government land and are then given to schools, military

forces, private corporations of all kinds and many conservation

organizations, who all make a big showing of spending X number of days

each year out and about and planting forests .. on government lands.

This is a really big deal and gets much media coverage. Martin Watt

saw the results of that program when he visited me here in Turkey.

Brazil is not as fortunate as Turkey in that they have no Famous,

Fabulous, Founding Father to Follow. ;-)

 

The trees the Brazilian loggers are after are the tropical hardwoods

... they are one of Brazil's largest exports .. and the country that

buys the lion's share of these trees is Japan. If we were to kick off

a campaign to embargo Japanese goods maybe we could slow the reduction

of the Rain Forests .. but we would need to find alternative sources

for employment of the Brazilian peasants .. and increase foreign aid

to the Brazilian government because now 50% of their GDP goes to pay

debt.

 

The scientific community agrees that in Brazil, even after legal or

illegal logging companies move through an area .. that area can

revitalize itself in 20-30 years or so .. if .. they leave behind some

breeder stock ... Mama Nature is good about patching Herself up.

Unfortunately, the peasants follow the loggers .. and they slash and

burn any timber left

standing in order to gain free land for the purpose of subsistence farming.

 

Subsistence farming in Brazil is more than just feeding the family,

its often Politically driven .. so to increase the number of

subsistence farmers .. the government often turns a blind eye to

destruction of Rain Forests. The Political aspects of this " blind eye "

policy is no secret .. it is a desire to " Brazilianiz " Brazil .. that

is, to replace the Amazon Indians with " real Brazilians " .. this idea

of colonization and displacement of " inferior " indigenous tribes is

practiced in many Third World and Emerging Market countries. (ADDED)

In my previous post you saw the term " Caboclos " .. here is the meaning

... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caboclo

 

Embargo of Rosewood oil will NOT stop this movement or slow down the

rate of destruction of the Rain Forests .. but it will place an even

larger economic burden on these indigenous tribes because many of them

make their living from selling felled Rosewood trees or parts thereof.

 

What will stop the destruction of the Rain Forests is similar to what

will stop Magabe's shameful treatment of people in Zimbabwe .. and the

rape and murder of displaced people in Darfur .. and the many other

modern day examples of man's inhumanity to man in literally hundreds

of other places in the world .. that is .. controlled foreign

assistance for economic prosperity and improvement of human rights ..

it is more difficult for a government to disregard laws the make

themselves when their citizens feel free to criticize the government.

If the Western world is not satisfied with the progress made or the

lack of adherence to logical and fair social, economic, human rights

and ecological policies in a Third World country, the choices are to

attempt to make peaceful and meaningful changes .. or to suck it up

and drive on and quit complaining. Sometimes it is necessary to

intervene (to one degree or another) in order to do this .. that is

to force upon them our " superior " policies .. but to most folks its

not socially/politically acceptable behavior to forcibly dictate

policy to foreign governments/citizens .. even if they do have their

heads where the sun doesn't shine. So .. its back to the idealistic

drawing board. There is one double standard exception to this ..

many of the Eco-Activist organizations believe that it is not only

acceptable but advisable for international bodies to dictate policy to

other countries when those policy changes are in line with their

agenda.

 

As I have previously stated, most of those who choose to be full or

part time professional (?) environmental activists tend to disregard

information contrary to their position .. " don't confuse me with facts

... I have my mind made up. " We can see this every day .. even now the

US Gummit has decided that the Bald Eagle and the Grey Wolf and the

Grizzly Bear in Yellowstone .. are no longer in danger. So they want

to take them off the list because keeping them on the list has

ramifications that go far beyond simple protection of the critters ..

however, the environmentalists (at least those who are not scientists)

are screaming about taking them off .. and the reason is .. they need

a cause to protest .. its about emotionalism and pride of

accomplishment even if the accomplishment is useless, wasted effort

that could be more useful is expended in some other area..

 

True it is that there are rational and serious and sincere

Eco-Activists out and about .. but all of them are NOT! When one

chooses a position .. be it Liberal vs Conservative .. Pro or Anti

Abortion .. Pro or Anti War .. Pro or Anti change through Religious

Jihad .. or any other position that (generally) is emotionally

motivated and driven, they will generally disregard any information

that is contrary to their position.

 

When it comes to examining the realities of destruction of Mysore

Sandalwood trees .. and more importantly (for this discussion) of

Rosewood trees, its not just the Eco-Activists who live in Dream Land

... a good portion of the folks in the AT and Perfumery industry also

get low grades. The reason is that they are reluctant to upset the

activists and kick their Sacred Cows .. they avoid disagreement

because that might cause them to appear to be unconcerned about the

environment .. in this industry, that would be sacrilege!

 

Those who disagree with my position are OK folks if they know why they

disagree and can verbalize their disagreement without using

politically correct, emotionally driven, unproved garbage arguments

and insulting my intelligence. Those who disagree with me but can't

intelligently explain why they disagree .. can kiss my grits. ;-)

 

ADDED: I have always been concerned about the environment and am

even more concerned now that I have a 22 month old son .. some old

farts are still capable of fathering intelligent, handsome youngsters.

;-) ) But I don't have the time or desire to chase after whirl

winds or plan assaults on wind mills. I read every credible article I

can find in whatever scientific journal I can find .. searching for

truth .. because truth is something difficult to get from reading the

words of those who stray too far Left or Right of the center line ..

and damn near impossible to get from those who have an agenda to

promote. I am now and have been for many years a dues paying active

member of two conservation organizations .. and now that I have left

Turkey and settled in Paris, TN, I have been able to become personally

involved in some conservation issues .. I do care about seeing mankind

NOT do dumb things when doing smart things will get the same results.

I also sell Mysore Sandalwood and Brazilian Rosewood .. my motives for

doing so are not greed or ignorance.

 

When cops come upon a body that is still in death throes and they see

a big knife sticking out of the chest .. they know they got a death on

their hands .. but they can't claim to know the CAUSE of DEATH - that

will be determined by the appropriate, qualified SCIENTIFIC

authorities.. not by an EMOTIONAL lynch mob.

 

The same holds for determining the real causes of deforestation in

Brazil and in other countries that have Rain Forests.

For sure if the rate of logging and slash burn activity continues for

many more years there will be a negative impact on the environment ..

for a period of time .. but embargoing the sale of Rosewood Oil will

have about as much impact on this as will embargoing milkshakes from

McDonalds!!

 

What I am saying is .. whether or not one purchases Rosewood oil there

will be no change in the rate of destruction of the Rain Forests. If

one feels that by not buying Rosewood oil they are doing something

positive and/or making a statement that gives them warm, fuzzy

feelings then I am 100% in support of their actions because feeling

good is

what we all strive for .. but I hope that while they deny themselves

Rosewood oil they are at least knowledgeable enough to recognize why

they are doing it, and kind enough to not criticize those of us who

don't feel a need to make such a statement .. and are continuing to

sell Rosewood Oil.

 

The below article is (perhaps) a step in the right direction .. or

maybe it is simply a move to pacify those who are concerned about

destruction of the Brazilian Rain Forest. Those who have paid much

attention to economic

conditions in Brazil will read other things into this article .. just

as those who are more concerned about people than they are about the

possibility .. not certainty .. that man creates global warming ..

will read a lot into the conversion to fuels produced from corn, etc.

Like .. the fact that corn has gone from $2 to $5 a bushel in one year

... US farmers are neglecting other cash crops which is causing an

increase in cost at the check out counter .. and the Mexican peasants

are up in arms because it is now more costly for them to eat one of

the basic foods in their diet .. corn tortillas

 

Those who are truly concerned about the delicate balance between the

needs of man and the environment will welcome the information in the

article below .. those who don't really want to see a solution because

it might take away a reason for them to feel good about what they are

doing for mankind (protesting) might try to pick the article apart or

might say that its white wash .. it won't work .. like all political

agreements. To them I ask .. is it your desire to go through life

identifying problems or do you think that your efforts would be more

useful to mankind if you also came up with some credible

recommendations for a remedy to those problems?

 

The news below may well be white wash .. just another attempt by the

Brazilian government to patronize the Western world and the

Eco-Activists .. but if this turns out to be the truth .. believing

that an embargo of Rosewood oil is going to do any more than the

Brazilian government's white wash to correct a bad situation is

likewise an exercise in futility.

 

The actions laid out in the article below are not THE solutions to the

problem of diminishing Rain Forest in Brazil .. the actions necessary

to stop the harvest of trees in Brazil are too numerous to mention

even if this list was named " ATFE2 Rain Forest List " .. but its a step

in the right direction .. and though its not THE solution .. " every

little bit helps " , said the old man who peed in the ocean.

 

If I had the time to be an activist of any sort .. from a realistic

standpoint I would choose more worthwhile causes to promote/support ..

I have done that a bit in my lifetime and not by just putting words on

a paper .. I have put my feet on the ground in areas where we were in

harm's way. If I wanted to promote a cause from an idealistic point

of view, I would demand that all the crime in the world stop and try

to prove (using tools the Economists use) that if that could be

achieved .. we could save this many lives and that much money and get

rid of police and courts and prisons and parole officers and criminal

lawyers. But then .. I would also have to recommend what we should do

to save all those folks from bankruptcy when we took away their jobs.

From a realistic point of view .. I might be more successful if I

started training for positive action by again viewing videos of the

Great Charles Bronson and his courageous actions in the movies " Death

Wish. " On second thought .. if I did that it would make me appear

to be an extremist. ;-)

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

 

Wholesale/Retail GC Tested EO and Rose Products, Tested Hydrosols and

other nice things sent to you from our store and warehouse in Downtown

Friendsville, MD. Pop: 597

 

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Brazil Forestry Rules Win Mixed Praise

 

POSTED: 1503 GMT (2303 HKT), March 23, 2007

 

Story Highlights

• Brazil law opens national forests to use by private companies and citizens

• Officials are to create a registry of all public lands in the Amazon region

• Forestry service then will decide which areas can be opened up for

concessions

• Environmentalists and loggers agree move a good one if policy

enforced properly

 

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- New rules that allow sustainable

logging of national forests in the threatened Amazon drew guarded

praise from both environmentalists and loggers.

 

President Luiz Inacio da Silva this week issued rules to carry out the

law, passed last year by Congress, that opens national forests to use

by private companies and citizens.

 

Officials are supposed to create a registry of all public lands in the

Amazon region, and the National Forestry Service then will determine

which areas can be opened up for concessions.

 

Loggers will have to present a plan for sustainable management that

preserves the forest while allowing commercial profit from it.

 

" We see more positive points than negative points in the decree, "

Marcelo Marquesini, a senior campaigner for Greenpeace, said Thursday.

" Success or failure of this public policy will depend on monitoring

and enforcement. If there is no enforcement, it will not work. "

 

At least some loggers agreed.

 

" It's a good move if everybody follows the law, but if some people are

logging responsibly and others aren't, it won't work, " said Marcelo

Sobral, a logger from the southern state of Curitiba with holdings in

the Amazon rain forest.

 

Brazil is home to the vast bulk of the Amazon rain forest, and in

recent years the country has struggled with how to balance the

region's development with preservation.

 

Farmers and ranchers are increasingly making inroads into the world's

largest remaining tropical wilderness, threatening the environment but

also creating jobs for the millions of poor people who live in the

region.

 

So far about 20 percent of the Amazon's 1.6 million square miles of

rain forest has been cut down, mostly to make way for pasture and

grain fields.

 

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.