"Lessons From The Ancient Forest: Earth Wisdom And Political Activism," slides and stories presented by Lou Gold
he big trees in our National For-
ests are still not protected. Lou Gold, tireless and eloquent voice for
the ancient forest, is on the road again with slides and stories to counteract
the public perception that the ancient forests are protected.
Join San Diego Earth Day and the Sierra Club
at Mission Trails Regional Park Visitors Center, One Father Serra Trail,
off of Mission Gorge Road on Friday, April 25 at 7pm to welcome Lou
Gold's Roadshow to San Diego.
"Lessons for the Ancient Forest: Earth
Wisdom & Political Activism," is a dynamic slide show presented
in storytelling format. Lou weaves factual details about ancient forests
into his own personal experiences on Bald Mountain in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness
of southwest Oregon.
The show begins with a lesson in forest ecology,
focusing on what an intact forest is all about. The second part shows the
damaging consequences of taking forests apart and discusses the political
and economic forces that have resulted in the present alarming rate of destruction.
The third section motivates people to get involved locally, nationally and
globally. Lou "preaches the gospel" of individual empowerment
and helps people understand that action is a meaningful antidote to despair.
Lou Gold is a former college professor who
taught American government and urban politics at Oberlin College in Ohio
and at the University of Illinois. Widely known as an outstanding teacher,
he left his academic career to lead a quiet life in the last great coastal
wilderness region. When he found it threatened by chain saws, Lou took a
stand on a remote peak to speak for the bears and the owls.
Lou, a storyteller and wilderness hermit, toured
the country for many years with his popular slide show, which was presented
more than 600 times and touched more than 100,000 people. In 1994, following
the so-called Clinton compromise on the ancient forest issue, he retired
from his role as the hermit-with-the-most-frequent-flyer-miles.
But the mood in Congress changed. The so-called
Salvage Rider was passed, setting aside all environmental laws. The White
House caved in, and hopes for an end to the timber wars were torn asunder.
Logging-without-laws began. Mainstream Americans were outraged. Hundreds
of demonstrators were arrested. And the big trees began falling again. They
still are.
Today, it's not only the bears and owls who
are at risk. The runs of wild salmon are on the brink of extinction, and
floods and devastating landslides are occurring on a regular basis. Millions
of dollars of property damage, city water systems contaminated or completely
shut down for weeks, and the tragic loss of human lives are but some of
the costs of the still-unabated attack on our forests.
The darkest days of the Salvage Rider ended
in December, 1996, but there will be more logging based on the timber sales
rushed through before it expired. And there is some devastating new legislation
being introduced in Congress right now. New "salvage" schemes
and attacks on the Endangered Species Act are truly national in scope; our
public forests are threatened across the country.
The good news is that there are new opportunities
on the horizon as well. Grassroots coalitions are putting forth exciting
new visions, such as the Act to Save America's Forests, new Zero Cut legislation,
several regional ecosystem protection acts, and a new campaign to achieve
permanent protection for the Siskiyou Wildlands.
Lou Gold's slides and stories convey a clear
and urgent sense of the importance of Ancient Forests and what they mean
to human life. His message is one of hope and opportunity. An encounter
with Lou Gold and his vivid slide show will convince even the most skeptical
of the urgent need to protect our quickly vanishing natural areas.
Seating is extremely limited for this event.
Please call (619) 299-1743 for more information or to secure your reservation
with a $5 donation. A brief reception will follow.
