|
Volume CXXXII, Number 15 |
 |
The facts on Cascade paper
JONATHAN PEREZ
STAFF WRITER
Why does Bowdoin continue supporting logging efforts of our country's oldest National Forests? Through Bowdoin's allegiance to Boise Cascade in purchasing their paper products, we as a community have supported an industry that continues to deplete what some may argue is America's most pristine natural resource. Although nearly 80 percent of the world's original old growth forests have been logged, Boise Cascade remains one of the top loggers and distributors of Pacific Northwest old growth products. In fact, in a region all but ravished by industry with over 53 percent of British Columbia's coastal temperate rainforest destroyed, Boise Cascade has indicated a consistent refusal to increasing environmental demands.
Not only has Boise Cascade, Bowdoin's largest supplier of printer and copier paper, continued out-of-date logging practices, but they have also been accused of various human rights violations in Mexico stemming from a non-violent protest that occurred in 1995. At the time, as more and more campesinos recognized the disastrous affects of a Boise mill in Guerrero, Mexico, a non-violent workers revolt erupted led by Rodolfo Montiel. Though able to close down mill operations, Rodolfo and a fellow campesino were arrested, tortured and both sentenced to prison terms less than a year after the protest. Fortunately today, Rodolfo has been released and granted the Goldman Environmental Prize in his efforts and contributions in stopping Boise, as well as being declared a Prisoner of Conscience by Amnesty International.
Yet besides their horrible human rights record, and operations in British Columbia, Boise has also continued destroying temperate rainforests in Chile and other endangered lands through importing goods from the Amazon, Southeast Asia, Russia and Canada. As one of Canada's leading logging companies with over 80 percent of timber rights, Boise Cascade has proposed a clear-cutting of more than 60 percent of the Boreal Forest, a unique and ancient ecosystem. But after all is "said and done" the question still remains as to why Bowdoin College, a proposed institution of higher learning, which should embrace technology and its advances, continues its support of Boise Cascade. Yet some progress has been made.
Participating in the "Tree Free Campus" campaign, the Evergreens under the guidance of Heather Colman-McGil have taken steps to "phase-out" the use of Boise's products making new room for more sustainable recycled materials. The campaign proposed nationwide by the Rainforest Action Network has found a wide audience of student-activists around the country as more and more Universities embrace its initiatives. Similarly, here at Bowdoin the Evergreens have collected over 200 student signatures in support of the new plan. As part of our Environmental Mission Statement, Bowdoin proposes to "take a leadership role in environmental stewardship by promoting environmental awareness, local action, and global thinking." As a member of this community it is my sincere hope that "stewardship" and the basic values this college once prided itself on can be realized sooner than later.
For more information on this piece or other related topics concern feel free to come to the next Evergreens meeting on Monday at 9:00 p.m. located in Adams Hall, or contact Heather Colman-McGil.
|
FastCounter by bCentral |