"Washington, D.C., is to lying what Wisconsin is to cheese." -Dennis Miller
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Clear Cut
My friend, the Eco-fellow, produced and narrated this video about clearcutting in Sonoma County, California. It's well-done, informative, and educational.
Well done Sierra Club! Sadly, the popularity of California wines and other New World wines may signal more land cleared for growing grapes. However, plonking down estates in the middle of a vineyard so that the wealthy can subsidise the cost of setting up the vineyard, which will require more than a fair share of resources and pesticides is environmentally unsound. What's Arnold got to say about all of this development?
HM: Well, given that Ah-nuld is a bajillionaire and a movie star and a driver of Hummers, he probably doesn't give a rat's *ss, but Eco-fellow would know better than I, so I defer to him. Hopefully he'll post a much more helpful and intelligent response than I.
Arnold hasn't said anything about this particular project, or about conversion of forests to vineyards in general. We would be delighted if we could give the issue enough prominence that he felt compelled to declare his position, but we're not there yet.
It's been fascinating to watch how wine is marketed. It's really sold as a lifestyle. Wine connotes nature's bounty, and "the good life." It's something that beautiful, educated, affluent, successful people drink while savoring the richness of their lives. I'm not anti-wine, I just think that we should keep our enthusiasm for the stuff somewhat connected to reality. Our campaign to educate the public about the adverse environmental impacts of vineyard conversions has particular potency because the facts "on the ground" are so jarringly discordant with the wine mystique. That's what we're hoping at least.
Beyond this specific vineyard project, there is some chance that activists throughout the state might be able to bring some pressure to bear on CalPERS. CalPERS has $230 Billion dollars to invest in various schemes, but precious little in the way of an environmental or social responsibility compass. Even a small percentage of $230 Billion can do a lot of damage if applied recklessly.
3 comments:
Well done Sierra Club! Sadly, the popularity of California wines and other New World wines may signal more land cleared for growing grapes. However, plonking down estates in the middle of a vineyard so that the wealthy can subsidise the cost of setting up the vineyard, which will require more than a fair share of resources and pesticides is environmentally unsound. What's Arnold got to say about all of this development?
HM: Well, given that Ah-nuld is a bajillionaire and a movie star and a driver of Hummers, he probably doesn't give a rat's *ss, but Eco-fellow would know better than I, so I defer to him. Hopefully he'll post a much more helpful and intelligent response than I.
Thanks J for the publicity.
Arnold hasn't said anything about this particular project, or about conversion of forests to vineyards in general. We would be delighted if we could give the issue enough prominence that he felt compelled to declare his position, but we're not there yet.
It's been fascinating to watch how wine is marketed. It's really sold as a lifestyle. Wine connotes nature's bounty, and "the good life." It's something that beautiful, educated, affluent, successful people drink while savoring the richness of their lives. I'm not anti-wine, I just think that we should keep our enthusiasm for the stuff somewhat connected to reality. Our campaign to educate the public about the adverse environmental impacts of vineyard conversions has particular potency because the facts "on the ground" are so jarringly discordant with the wine mystique. That's what we're hoping at least.
Beyond this specific vineyard project, there is some chance that activists throughout the state might be able to bring some pressure to bear on CalPERS. CalPERS has $230 Billion dollars to invest in various schemes, but precious little in the way of an environmental or social responsibility compass. Even a small percentage of $230 Billion can do a lot of damage if applied recklessly.
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