Janisse, thank you for this essay. Coincidentally, I started reading your book, The Seed Underground, this week. I've been saving this book for a time when I was ready for what's next, since I know after I finish it, there are things I will not be able to ignore anymore. Your books are a call-to-action, which I love.
I loved the first story of Sylvia Davatz and underlined this:
"The system is so broken," she said. "Not only broken, but destructive and self-destructive." Yes.
I perked up at her wise words that you beautifully transcribed. "The real power is doing. The real power is in making the system irrelevant. That means nonparticipation in the existing broken system." Whoa. Yes.
Thank you for leading the charge and for having the courage to talk about this. Little by little, I'm leaving the destructive system on which our society hangs...
Thank you, just thank you, for giving words to our collective confusion and pain. If it helps one teensy bit, there are so many of us feeling the same. And our voices can be heard.
I see your grief and hear your pain. Do you distinguish between tree farms and natural forests? The cutting of trees on a tree farm has not yet bothered me. It's what they were grown for. From what I've seen around here they are generally replanted within 2 years. But the cutting of a natural forest seems like a sin, especially clear-cutting.
Thank you for your thoughts. Action is indeed salve for the pain. We can all do whatever we can do. We are doing things at local scale (such as recently planting hundreds of feet of riparian corridor) to larger-scale (pushing to launch whole ecosystem forest restoration in Florida and elsewhere). Keep up the good work inspiring us all to do what we can. See some of our work https://www.facebook.com/Rayea.LLC
I wrote about this too and have connections in North Carolina and know a lot of amazing activists fighting to save the forests and expose Enviva's lies.
Thank you for writing this painful and eloquent piece--it's such an important step to take--we need to be angry and we need to find ways to stand up and stop the madness.
Thank you for writing this. I've been wading through grief recently about several things, namely properties across from me which house wonderful spring peepers and a new house is going to go on top of it. And then Texas is losing a state park to developers who want to put in multi-million dollar second homes and a golf course because Texas Parks and Wildlife fumbled the entire deal. If you want to read more about clearcutting, the late Ned Fritz, a Texas environmental icon, wrote two books on Clearcutting in the late 70s and early 80s. I'm reading through one of them now. You can really only find them used, try Abe or Thrift books.
I feel that grief and I feel the struggle. Sending love and thank you for just writing what is honest and breaking my heart. I don't know how to build that resilience yet really. I'm still struggling with feeling it and letting it go.
Your words are so honest, yet painful to read. We went down to Savannah a few months ago and as we neared Pooler, I noticed what looked like complete destruction to the south of I-16. It went on for miles and miles. Not a sign of life. Not a living thing. Completely brown and flat, ready for development. Later, I found out the destruction was to make way for a new Hyundai plant. One that will bring lots of jobs to build more cars to fill more roads to cut through more wilderness. Sometimes this all really makes me feel very dark inside.
Janisse, thank you for this essay. Coincidentally, I started reading your book, The Seed Underground, this week. I've been saving this book for a time when I was ready for what's next, since I know after I finish it, there are things I will not be able to ignore anymore. Your books are a call-to-action, which I love.
I loved the first story of Sylvia Davatz and underlined this:
"The system is so broken," she said. "Not only broken, but destructive and self-destructive." Yes.
I perked up at her wise words that you beautifully transcribed. "The real power is doing. The real power is in making the system irrelevant. That means nonparticipation in the existing broken system." Whoa. Yes.
Thank you for leading the charge and for having the courage to talk about this. Little by little, I'm leaving the destructive system on which our society hangs...
Thank you, just thank you, for giving words to our collective confusion and pain. If it helps one teensy bit, there are so many of us feeling the same. And our voices can be heard.
Jeanne, yes, I loved what you wrote in Nature Rx about the grief. Thank you.
I see your grief and hear your pain. Do you distinguish between tree farms and natural forests? The cutting of trees on a tree farm has not yet bothered me. It's what they were grown for. From what I've seen around here they are generally replanted within 2 years. But the cutting of a natural forest seems like a sin, especially clear-cutting.
Thank you for your thoughts. Action is indeed salve for the pain. We can all do whatever we can do. We are doing things at local scale (such as recently planting hundreds of feet of riparian corridor) to larger-scale (pushing to launch whole ecosystem forest restoration in Florida and elsewhere). Keep up the good work inspiring us all to do what we can. See some of our work https://www.facebook.com/Rayea.LLC
I feel your pain and grief. I am suspecting the private landowners are clearcutting their forests to feed the devastating wood pellet industry led by Enviva. Have you contacted the Dogwood Alliance? https://www.dogwoodalliance.org/2022/11/does-enviva-clearcut-forests-the-surprising-truth/
I wrote about this too and have connections in North Carolina and know a lot of amazing activists fighting to save the forests and expose Enviva's lies.
https://marinarichie.com/2021/11/22/stand-up-for-forests-of-the-southeast/
Thank you for writing this painful and eloquent piece--it's such an important step to take--we need to be angry and we need to find ways to stand up and stop the madness.
Marina, I know & admire Dogwood Alliance. Thank you for exposing Enviva & for caring about all forests. xo
Thank you for writing this. I've been wading through grief recently about several things, namely properties across from me which house wonderful spring peepers and a new house is going to go on top of it. And then Texas is losing a state park to developers who want to put in multi-million dollar second homes and a golf course because Texas Parks and Wildlife fumbled the entire deal. If you want to read more about clearcutting, the late Ned Fritz, a Texas environmental icon, wrote two books on Clearcutting in the late 70s and early 80s. I'm reading through one of them now. You can really only find them used, try Abe or Thrift books.
I feel that grief and I feel the struggle. Sending love and thank you for just writing what is honest and breaking my heart. I don't know how to build that resilience yet really. I'm still struggling with feeling it and letting it go.
Photographing the beauty of nature, as you do, creates resilience.
Your words are so honest, yet painful to read. We went down to Savannah a few months ago and as we neared Pooler, I noticed what looked like complete destruction to the south of I-16. It went on for miles and miles. Not a sign of life. Not a living thing. Completely brown and flat, ready for development. Later, I found out the destruction was to make way for a new Hyundai plant. One that will bring lots of jobs to build more cars to fill more roads to cut through more wilderness. Sometimes this all really makes me feel very dark inside.
That is a painful place to see.
My heart goes out to you and to every single living [in my eyes it's all alive] thing on this place. Our home. I meet you on the ground. Eye to eye.
Thank you for your words
Ginger
The grief is real. Thank you for reminding us of things we can do in the midst of it.
Godawful