This suggests that a philosophy of true deep ecology, or at least an understanding of what it entails, does not really exist on the island. Energy should be focused on maintaining what exists of native species and ecosystems, and of limiting the growth of destructive intruders, rather than simply focusing on the popular problem of fossil fuels. Source Author: Canadian Forest Service (Viewpoint Newsletter)

Source Title: "Invasives: Working the Bugs Out of the Lumber Trade"

Synopsis:

Despite the growing view of green lumber as something that help to protect forests and consumers alike from things like preservatives and other chemicals that are potentially damaging to the health of the environment and the people in it, there are also major environmental problems with the sale, transport, and use of untreated lumber. Lumber is traditionally treated with pesticides and other substances that help to preserve the wood and to protect it from damage by insects and other destructive parasites. So-called "green" lumber is not treated with these substances, which are artificially manufactured and for which there are often no natural alternatives, in an effort to protect individuals using the lumber and the environment from the toxic effects of the treatment.

This also, however, protects the bugs that eat the lumber. when lumber remains untreated, it also remains filled with any of the organisms that were in the tree when it was cut down. It also remains susceptible to other intruders that can cause damage to the wood. These issues are worthy of consideration on their own; green lumber simply will not last as long, and therefore more lumber is required for upkeep when it isn't treated. Even more pressing, however, is the issue of international transport. These bugs, if allowed to survive, can infest lumber and forests around the world when wood is imported and exported. This can lead to much greater environmental and ecological problems, as forests with not natural defenses towards invaders they have never before encountered could become ravaged by the parasites brought over by green lumber.

Source Title: "Selling Canada's Water."

Synopsis:

In presenting basic arguments on both sides of Canada's water selling issue, this article fails to provide clear evidence...

The suggestion by the entrepreneur hoping to sell five-hundred-thousand cubic meters per week of a certain lake's water that this amount would be replenished within ten hours goes unchallenged, though it seems unlikely. If it is not true, than it points to a need for better and more certain techniques of gauging how lake systems like the one explored actually work; if water is replenished in the lake at a high and constant rate, it might be feasible to sell at least some of it, even if not in bulk as proposed. If his claim is true, then bulk selling itself might not be a bad idea. Water is not exactly infinitely renewable, but if pollution is kept out of the system then natural precipitation ought to be able to recycle enough of the world's water back into the lake to keep it producing, and this might help to alleviate the problem faced in other countries with polluted or non-existent water supplies.
The problem of elite control over water supplies is not solved by stopping the sale of water, either. If wars will be fought over water in the near future as is claimed in the latter part of the article, then certainly the elite will also be the primary beneficiary of resources obtained via military means, just as they would benefit the most from economic acquisition. There is the added problem in this scenario of the number of deaths during warfare, which are sure to be higher for the underprivileged both as soldiers and civilians. Economics might be the only quasi-solution.

Works Cited

CBC News Online. "Selling Canada's Water." 2004. Accessed 12 October 2009. http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/water/

Canadian Forest Service. "Invasives: Working the Bugs Out of the Lumber Trade." 2004. Accessed 12 October 2009. http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/news/168

Diamond, Monga Bay.com. "Historical Consequences of Deforestation: Easter Island." 1995. Accessed 12 October 2009. http://www.mongabay.com/09easter_island.htm

Pointing, Clive. "The Lessons of Easter Island." from a Green History of the World: The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations. Accessed 12 October 2009. http://www.primitivism.com/easter-island.htm

Wikipedia. "Environment of Hawaii." 2009. Accessed 12 October 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environment_of_Hawaii