Responsibility of the Wealthy
By Walter I. Zeichner
11/25/01
Anyone who owns or controls large amounts of wealth, whether it's land, factories, patents, inventory, raw materials, currency, or any other form of wealth; it is time for you to understand that you do not possess this wealth. You hold it in trust for all of the life forms which are affected by the choices you make in managing this wealth.
Earth is finite, and while humans have, for most of our history, endlessly exploited each other and the earth, we are reaching the limitations of this planet in terms of life support. We have already set in motion environmental catastrophes, which are gradually coming to pass, and which degrade the ability of earth to support life. In the not too distant future this will directly impact humans. This will impact all humans, rich and poor. The rich will, for a short time, be able to buy better quality life support, but that won't last for long.
It is in everyone's best interests, and in the interest of our survival, that the holders of great wealth wake up and see that they must be responsible in a new way for their holdings. Their decisions, what they do with the wealth they hold in trust, must focus on the well-being of the planet and all life forms. Priorities must be set so that the accumulation of more wealth is no longer of prime importance. To do otherwise is foolishness at it's most blatant. The person who chooses money over life is a fool. The person who thinks they can sacrifice the lives of others for their own profit, and come away from that clean and well, is also a fool. It's time for people to stop being foolish in these ways and make the obvious decisions that preserve life.
The Fisher family, who own controlling interests in The Gap* (see bottom of article for update from 6/18/02) and subsidiaries Old Navy and Banana Republic, also own land where there are old growth redwoods; trees of great beauty, integral to the ecosystem, that have lived for thousands of years. The Fishers have made choices about that land which have included cutting down some of those trees, with the intention to cut down more. While they may own this land according to the laws of the United States and the State of California, it is clear to see that no one can truly own something like these ancient Redwoods. It is ludicrous. The Fishers have a responsibility to protect these natural wonders, and their habitat. In addition to the Fisher's approach to land management, the Gap and its subsidiaries have been known to exploit teenagers in third world sweatshops. You can learn more about these facts and many others about the corporations of the United states and the world by going to http://www.nologo.org website of Naomi Klein, author of the book No Logo.
The Gap is declaring a loss in the vicinity of $178.8 million in the third quarter of 2001, their first losing quarter ever, due at least in part to a boycott. This boycott includes the other two stores in the Gap family. The Gap, and The Fishers, are in financial trouble, and ultimately that is what will happen to people who mismanage the resources they are entrusted with.
A similar story can be written about many other corporations and land baron families. The oil companies are another story entirely since we are all so addicted to oil. Part of the cure for that is to get high efficiency hybrid vehicles on the road, priced affordably, which auto manufacturers are capable of doing.
I am learning about directing the flow of my money in directions I approve of.
If everyone in the US became more deliberate in their spending habits, and withdrew their financial support from corporations that do not prioritize life over profit, it would be amazing to see how fast things changed. It would also mean that the people of the US would become very aware of their consumption and the toll it takes.
It's going to be difficult for many people to make the changes needed to make. The challenges are more in one's mind than in one's circumstances. It's just a matter of taking the time to find out what you are buying and buy responsibly. However, it is doable and it is necessary, and many people are already doing it and it is having an impact.
Check out http://www.freetheslaves.net to learn about the conditions of children in the cocoa industry. Boys and young men living in terrible conditions harvest the cocoa beans, source of chocolate. Check out http://www.chocolatebar.com where you can get chocolate made from organic ingredients and Fair Trade cocoa. This is an example of a business working in ways that are good for the environment, the workers and the customers.
Times are changing.
*Excerpts from 6/18/02 newsletter put out by:
Mary Bull
Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Campaign
252 Frederick Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
415-731-7924 chalicenew@earthlink.net
www.gapsucks.org
As Fisher Exploitation Comes to a Head, SRBG & Global Exchange will be teaming up this Summer to pressure Gap to settle the Saipan sweatshop suit and the Fishers to abandon their development plans and make their redwood holdings a wildlife preserve. We will be calling for solidarity actions around the globe!!! JOIN the FESTIVAL of RESISTANCE against Gap/Fisher Greed!!! Sign up for an action--from letter-writing to banner hangs--at http://www.gapsucks.org !!!
From CLEARCUTS to HOUSING Developments: Fishers
Pave the Way!!!
Literally.... When the Fishers bought the forestland, we surmised
that they viewed it as a real estate investment and that, as soon
as they logged the last merchantable timber, they would start
converting it to vineyards and subdivisions, with a few land trust/tree
zoos thrown in at public expense to show what terrific environmentalists
they are. They are beginning that conversion process now with
their holdings in Willow Creek in Sonoma County.
A few years ago the Fishers spurned overtures from the community
and its state representatives to buy their holdings in Willow
Creek for a state park. About four months ago, they approached
the County with an offer to sell. The process has not become public
yet--the first public hearing will probably be at the end of summer.
So, everything that follows is unofficial info that we've received
from the Sonoma County Agriculture and Open Space District (OSD)
and the community organizers who have been trying to save Willow
Creek from the start. We plan to talk with key Sonoma County Supervisors
next week. Trust for Public Lands is representing MRC, the Fishers'
logging company, in the negotiations with OSD. The County Supervisors
will make the final decision.
The Fishers are offering to sell 3,000 acres to the public. The Fishers are willing to sell, if the public ponies up enough money. An unofficial figure of $20 Million was mentioned for the 3,000-acre parcel. This would constitute 7 times what the Fishers paid for it before they logged it. The Fishers are also willing to sell to the public their timber rights to two 1,000-acre parcels on either side of the 3,000-acre parcel. However, they wish to retain ownership and development rights for the two 1,000-acre parcels, and THEY PLAN TO BUILD HOUSES ON THEM.
WE BELIEVE that the Global Commons, which include forests and water, among other natural trust resources, belong to the Earth--they should not be privately held, bought and sold. Further, at this point in history, with 80% of our forests destroyed or so damaged they can no longer be logged sustainably, and with the world suffering from a GLOBAL WATER CRISIS that's rapidly growing, we cannot afford to pave over anymore watersheds, and must begin an intensive course of protection and restoration!
We will continue to pressure the Fishers to abandon their development schemes, and to instead permanently protect all or most of their forestland at no additional expense to the public--we've already paid TOO HIGH A PRICE in species extirpation and environmental damage!!! We have a number of CREATIVE ACTIONS planned to this end! Check out http://www.gapsucks.org to be part of the "Summer 2002 Festival of Resistance to Gap/Fisher Greed!!!"
Logging & Lawsuits: Fishers Escalate/Public
Retaliates: REPORT!!!
Meanwhile, back in the forest... The Fishers are logging as if
there is no tomorrow--and soon there won't be for the Coast Redwood
ecosystem, which should be a World Legacy. Mary Pjerrou of the
Greenwood Watershed Association reports that the Fishers filed
logging plans on 12,000 acres in 2001, a 50% increase over 2000.
She further reports that 59 of the 69 plans filed contain all
or partial clearcutting. We'll be posting a new damning picture
of a horrendous Fisher Family clearcut at the gapsucks web site
soon--as part of their phony PR campaign, the Fishers call it
"variable-retention," a 90% clearcut, but even the California
Department of Forestry requires that in their timber harvest plans
they call it what it is, a clearcut. This photo shows the truth--It
will sicken you.
Linda Perkins of the Albion River Watershed Protection Association reports that at the present rate of cut, the Fishers will be cutting 75-80% of some watershed areas in as few as 9 years. RAPACIOUS!! Specifically, in the four years of their ownership, the Fishers' logging company, MRC, has filed harvest plans on 33.9% of their land in the South Fork Albion; 44.7% of their land in the middle Albion; 35.8% of their land in the lower Albion. This means that, at their present rate of cut, they will have entered 100% of their land in just under 12 years in the South Fork; in less than 9 years in the middle Albion; in just over 11 years in the lower Albion. Because the Fishers own about 75-80% of the land in South Fork Albion and the middle Albion, this means that the entry rates for the entire watershed area of the South Fork will be 75-80% in 12 years, and 75-80% in 9 years in the middle Albion. VERY HIGH ENTRY RATES!
Why the Albion??? Because thanks to years of community activism, it contains the highest percentage of big trees left on Fisher lands, and the Good Stewards are going for these last of the last.
The Greenwood Watershed Association (GWA) won a case in May 2000, in which a Superior Court judge found three Fisher logging plans illegal for inadequate cumulative impacts assessment and no long-term watershed plan. Since that ruling, MRC has filed over 100 plans containing the same illegalities!!! GWA is back in court trying to get that ruling enforced on three of those new plans. According to Mary Pjerrou of GWA, they are employing slime-wad legal tactics to get the lawsuit thrown out on a technicality. On top of this, they can't find a judge in Mendocino County who can try the case: Two have had to recuse themselves for conflict of interest (prior to becoming judges, they either worked as counsel for the Fishers' logging company or for their predecessors); two judges were removed by peremptory challenge; and two pro-timber judges recently retired. ...That's what forest defenders are up against in Mendocino County!