Thursday
Oct102013
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill More eco-destruction by greens
Oct 10, 2013 Energy: gas Greens 
Where has all the wildlife gone?A must read letter from the head forester at Balcombe Estate has been published in the Mid-Sussex Times:
When a colleague was questioned by a ‘protector’ as to why there was no wildlife to be seen, he suggested it could have something to do with the hundred plus tents, people and drums (of course this was the one noise that could be heard over all else once the helicopters were excluded from the equation). Whilst the burning of wood as a renewable energy source should be applauded, I would have preferred that the dead wood left to enrich the woodland environment had not been burned.
Reader Comments (18)
Wonderfully British letter saying how glad he is they've "Foxtrot Oscared".
Well worth reading the whole letter!
Thank you to our "protectors" for ruining a delicate environment. But, of course, it was only a verge ...
Damage done by 'Greens' is irrelevant because it's for 'the greater good'.
I suspect the wildlife was disgusted by the animal behavior of the protestors...
That brings something to mind. Steve Irwin made himself wealthy, famous and dead by trespassing on the personal space of wild animals. I grew up on a farm, and learned very young that even domesticated animals need respect. When he first showed up on TV "crocodile man", my thoughts were that this is going to end badly. When he offered his baby daughter as crocodile bait (eat your heart out Gummer), I was afraid that he was going to get someone else killed instead of just himself.
Ultimately he paid the price of total disrespect for wild animals. After millions of years of evolution, a stingray (a thick shark) was able to place its barb right in the centre of his chest. He finally met a wild animal with manners equal to his own. An appropriate and inevitable response, I thought.
My opinion: he was an accident looking for somewhere to happen, was greeted with universal criticism on a mountain/skiing blog where I am now persona non grata.
I don't think that's fair at all, Hector. Steve clearly had a deep affection for creatures that I would have run a mile from and I learnt to look at them in a different way. He was just unlucky.
BTW, I don't think the letter in the paper can be genuine - it refers to the protestors washing.
Hector~ I spent seven years working at a wildlife rehab. Specifically, that one was set up to take care of any injured otters (The Otter Habitat, in Pennsylvania (no longer exists :( )
Anyway. Two of the permanent lodgers there were bred together every other year, and I got to help raise two generations of otters. I quite agree that one has to be careful working with wild animals, because, even though I worked with one of those baby otters from her third month, she did manage to leave me a parting gift, before she went to a wildlife museum in Ohio - seven scars across the fingers of both hands. And I had always been Very careful with those guys.
These protestors need to protest in Churchill, right about the time the polar bears are coming in...
The green end justifies the gray means
Some British people show a lovely mastery of the English language.
Great letter. It makes one wonder whether the protesters shot themselves in the foot as regards public sentiment in Balcombe.
What's in that picture? A messiah greeting his disciples, a rock concert, or a pothead hailing his bumper hydro crops? It also resembles a scene out of Space 1999 somewhat.
I thought it was Bob Geldof proclaiming the end of the world.
What was even funnier , when the dawn chorus finished as it does every year towards the end of spring. The protesters blamed that on Cuadrilla, and Vanessa Vine well known no-science anti even showed her ignorance of all things rural by putting on her blog, which is called something like:- Frack Free Sussex (not a nimby at all)
mike fowle
We'll just have to agree to differ.
I don't believe Irwin had any respect or affection for wild animals. They were his route to fame and fortune. He built a career out of getting right in the faces of wild animals, pulling back, and demonstrating how scary they were and how tough he was. He wasn't unlucky. He died because he played Russian Roulette too many times. He lived for as long as he did because most animals have better manners than he did. Then he met a shark that didn't care.
Hector, I agree we won't convince each other and it is only an impression on my part. But I can think of easier routes to fame and fortune. Thank you for your courteous reply.
re Steve Irwin: my children went to Caloundra State High School, where Steve had gone (before their time). One of the teachers there told us he remembered him at school as a quiet boy, passionate about wildlife. His parents ran the Reptile Park, (which later became the zoo), a small modest park, with just reptiles. I think that it was when he married an American that the idea of fame and expansion and exposure took hold. So, in summary, I think he genuinely did respect wildlife, but was beguiled into taking on an over-the-top persona to promote it.
Bishop, an ecosystem can't be destroyed by a few hundred people camping and playing bongos. The wildlife might be disturbed locally, but that is all. But "More wildlife disturbance by greens" doesn't have the same ring, does it?
An ecosystem can't be destroyed by oil extraction. The wildlife might be disturbed locally, but that is all. But "more wildlife disturbance by oil company" doesn't have the same ring, does it?
There is an important difference, though. The oil extraction has benefits to society which outweigh the disturbance. It is a major factor for example in the increased life expectancy of people in first world countries (which isn't a benefit if you're a human - hating green I know). Having a bunch of professional protestors fly tipping and dumping grey water into watercourses (which is where surface water drains go, not that greenies would know anything about how we actually deal with waste) causes environmental damage with no balancing benefit to society.