OK, I'll address the article.

The first 25 pars are spent denigrating the motives of those who disagree with the author. The rest fails to make a case.

Mark I would think that most Greens would be light green as you say - not sure where the 25% comes from in reference to dark greens.

You would be aware that the Gunn's and logging issues as a whole have always attracted contributions from 'experts' from both sides of the debate. All we can do as humble members of the public who are fed various contradictory data is to look at the issue logically in combination with many other ideas.

All of us, including experts, derive our opinions influenced by how we view the world, what we believe is right, applying logic and reason and hopefully making judgements without hidden agendas.

I agree that timber is one of the best resources, it is renewable can be used in a number of ways all to the benefit of mankind. But benefits to mankind are not confined to goods and services. The continuing supply of goods and service will also depend on how we manage those resources. Being mindful of the benefits of biodiversity, conservation and by carefully managing plantation timber is to apply logic and commonsense.

The problem lies with the image that everything 'green' must be illogical and emotion-based and the province of nutters while everything to do with business is based on fact, logic and altruism for the public good (jobs, goods etc).

Is it not logical and commonsense to argue for balance. None of these issues can stand alone they have to be looked at within the whole context of sustainabiity and natural resource management.

Because of Greens we now know that large scale clearing of land is not sustainable and is damaging on many fronts - salinity, biodiversity, infertility. Many farmers have got on board with sustainable farming practices because it is logical and because there is evidence that it works.

It's quite sick-making how climate change alarmists here believe in listening to the experts (scientists), but when it comes to forestry, they don't want to listen to this expert, but prefer to listen to greenies and othe ratbags.

Timber is a fantastic resource, renewable and diverse uses. Properly managed plantations are definitely the way to go. Where I disagree with pulp mills is that they are not necessary. Paper can be made from many other faster growing plants than trees. A massive tree can be reduced to nothing but pulp is wasteful, tragic and has environmental side effects.

Please consider:

"The bark of the hemp-stalk contains bast fibers, among the Earth's longest natural soft fibers and rich in cellulose. Hemp stalk is not psychoactive. Hemp fiber is longer, stronger, more absorbent and more insulative than cotton fiber.

According to the Department of Energy [USA] the hydrocarbons in hemp can be processed into a wide range of biomass energy sources, from fuel pellets to liquid fuels and gas. Development of bio-fuels could significantly reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear power.

emp can be grown organically. Only eight, out of about one hundred known pests, cause problems, and hemp is most often grown without herbicides, fungicides or pesticides. Hemp is also a natural weed suppressor due to fast growth of the canopy.

Hemp produces more pulp per acre than timber on a sustainable basis, and can be used for every quality of paper. Hemp paper manufacturing can reduce wastewater contamination. Hemp's low lignin content reduces the need for acids used in pulping, and its creamy color lends itself to environmentally-friendly bleaching instead of harsh chlorine compounds. Less bleaching results in less dioxin and fewer chemical by-products.

Hemp fiber paper resists decomposition, and does not yellow with age when an acid-free process is used. Hemp paper more than 1,500 years old has been found. Hemp paper can also be recycled more times than wood-based paper.

Research is being done to use hemp in manufacturing biodegradable plastic products: plant-based cellophane, recycled plastic mixed with hemp for injection-molded products, and resins made from the oil, to name a very few examples. Over two million cars on the road today have hemp composite parts for door panels, dashboards, luggage racks, etc."

Therefore, why are wood pulp mills even being considered?

Bravo Fractelle!
Hemp should be the feedstock for all paper products and replace cotton for many fabrics. Certain companies knew this and acted...let us say within the Law but outside all morality.
Folks should study *why* hemp was renamed, demonised, banned then handed over to the crimminals (who have since increased potency tenfold and endangered kids world wide).
In short, it was done by corperations for profit and power.
On a personal note: I grew up in the country and had a local swimming hole silt up on us. Upstream all the native bush was trashed for pine plantations. The creek system, which used to contain crays and fish, became a series of stagnant pools.
I am a *huge* fan of rationality and science, but I know that given false assumptions and starting conditions you can deduce almost anything. The "science" of economics is an example: Not too0 many economists saw the current debarkle comming did they? I simply don't believe we are forresting sustainably because I fly over denuded hills and degraded rivers. I've seen nature around me dying for the last 20 years in Victoria. Farming is just as much to blame, but invoking Science without providing some data is not good enough.

Mr R. I thought he said he was a forester in the employ of the logging industry. Either way a scientific argument can be mounted to justify many things but in this case the punters know what is in their interests and what isn't.

Anyone who invokes the "intellectual elite" as their enemy won't garner a lot of support when what they really want is to trash the environment for profit. Some people see intrinsic value in the environment while others see $.

One day you'll work it out Mr R. We're past (well, not quite) treating the planet as a magic pudding and are looking to develop sustainable industries. If Gunns wants to chop a tree and pulp it they can bloody well grow it first.