You're highlight from the Time article was more than relevant. As, I think, Chief Seattle said (and I may be paraphrasing): "What we do to the Earth we do to oursleves".

You young folks always get there first, BB.

I'm still thinking about this and won't have much to say for a couple of days, but I agree with virtually everything you've said here.

I try to keep hope up because I think too many people get turned off by constant bad news and simply ignore the problem, but I, too, have trouble staying positive.

I'm with you in trying to get people out to vote so we can at least attempt to ameliorate the problems .

Richard, Chief Seattle was one of my most admired people.

Loren, man, I adore you for that "You young people always get their first" comment. And agree with you on the vote. There's no reason not to be well informed before voting in this country, not with what we can find on the internet. And it's a start, right?

I hope I don't bore the international members of the virtual neighborhood, though I think they'll understand, and agree that a focus on political issues is important before a vote.

Someone should keep a running tally of idiot (well maybe not if your're in the logging industry) decisions such as these.

Damned right it's important and, as the Summit gets under way and 65,000 people troop into Jo'burg trailing tons of jet fuel and car fumes behind them, may I welcome them to South Africa and wish them a safe stay and a summit that turns out to be something more than the ubiquitous talk shops we're turning into an industry over here.

Many come with high hopes to leave having had them dashed by vested interests and crude agendas foisted on them by those with clout. Whether Powell's ignored back home or not, at least arguments and facts highlighting our need to clean up the mess we've created might reach sympathetic ears among federal officials in the U.S. delegation. I know many U.S. delegates are pushing extremely hard for change in key areas.

Fo rmy part, I laughed harshly at Bush's comment and moved on. It's the sort of dumb statement for which history will remember him. But the wisdom of stopping and questioning his credentials and his 'sincerity' on such an elementary issue is, I think, necessary and I'm pleased it's being done. I've seen this country strip-mined of timber by the likes of SAPPI which, when it was faced with an uncertain future, poured its money offshore to become one of the States's largest [if not the largest] paper producers.

I'm going to swallow and digest that Time article. In my exchange with Frank, I stated my belief that our kids will come to learn of all these things, good and bad, and that - in itself - is a good thing. As it is up to us to survive ourselves, so it will be up to them to control human problems. I wholeheartedly agree that while we might have given the globe a rash, it will brush us off like flies if we go too far. It will find new ways to flourish [if we don't turn it to glass first].

An issue related to that of turning out the vote. I was five or six when Kennedy was shot but still remember the mood that hit adults about me like a hammer. While we 'furriners' give the Bush and other administrations a hard time, perhaps it's felt in the States because we're vocally, abrasively aggressive. I believe the aggression arises in part from the doom and gloom that affects most of us come election time in the States. We equate not voting with not caring and, when the people of the most powerful and potentially most destructive [or constructive] nation in the world appear not to give a damn, it leads to a depression tinged with bitter resentment, a feeling of "They have it too good to care".

Beyond caring who is elected, I'd be a damned side more hopeful that we can pull back from a more ghastly, more tragic mess if I see Americans pouring to the polls in the coming two years.

Johannesburg, on the highveld [about 6,000 feet above sea level, is dry in winter. A featureless sprawl across the dry face of South Africa it is an ugly, raw, and brutal city [say what you want to, you who come from Gauteng, you know I'm right].

I hope many delegates get the chance to visit other parts of this amazingly beautiful country. Cape Town would be a good start and a bloody good example of a corner of the world worth saving. The Cape Peninsula's home to the smallest but most diverse floral kingdom in the world, boasting some 7,500-8,000 flower species not found elsewhere. And it's being tampled underfoot or 'developed' as more people flood into the Western Cape.

These are two cities among thousands. There's a dire need to force these issues come election time in every country in which we have a meaningful vote.

Go for it and thanks. I'll do something about giving my perspective of the summit from a thousand miles away. The news won't be sanitized before it reaches our ears and eyes.

Are you old, Loren? Funny; I had you pegged at about my age. I wonder why :)?

Good post, Bb. Coming from a logging town myself (In BC) I can relate to your experiences in your home town.

S'funny how you never hear (especially in logging towns) how forest fires actually enrich the soil, help the growth of new forests, kill off insect infestations, etc.
(from here)

I imagine you can, Bearman.

It's funny but I called my Mom tonight and we spent two hours talking about home. This all is bringing back a lot of memories.

Mike, I think we will see a decent turnout this year. There's been so much going on that I think (hope) people will want to have some control in what's happening.

Cape Town sounds incredibly beautiful. I would love it visit it. I would love to visit Sydney. Hell, at this point, I would love to visit Kettle Falls -- need to travel!

Karl, I think we'll all need to keep our own personal scoreboards. Better yet -- weblog posts.

Bearman, I guess it takes one to know one... or something like that. We've seen some devastating fires around Cape Town and its water catchment areas in the past few decades, because of rapid urbanisation and an historical factor. Our planners and developers in years gone by used imported acacia, pines and bluegums for everything from timber to stabilising land. The fynbos kingdom, which sees a lot of fire as it is, benefits from and regenerates because of it - as you point out.

However, over past decades, the alien vegetation, which burns at a far greater heat, not only kills the fynbos seeds but grows back faster, preventing the regeneration of natural vegetation. Each pine sucks up to 200 liters of water a day. Incidentally, the Table Mountain chain overlooking the city, was so wrecked by fire a few years back that Cahpman's Peak drive, one of the most scenic in the area, had to be closed down [parts of it still are] as the earth became destabilised and several people were killed by falling rocks. It's three years down the line and, while much of it has been reopened, people living the other side of the mountain have to travel a longer route to the city, adding to traffic bottlenecks and wear and tear on the roads. Everything affects something else.

When Kader Asmal became Minister of Forestry and Water Affairs in '94, a 'lowly' cabinet post, he turned the eradication of alien vegetation into something of a national priority and gave the ministry the profile it deserved. His work is now being carried on by Ronnie Kassrils. At one time, about 5 years ago, it was estimated that about 85% of Cape Town's water suppply was threatened by the proliferation of alien vegetation.

Government has screwed up in many respects in South Africa, but you'll find many of the old lefties focussing on key areas which, although they don't bring short-term gain, stand to benefit us in the long run. By doing so, they draw attention to these issues and begin to educate the public - who vote them back in.

Good things need to be done. They can be as well.

Shelley, Cape Town is not Africa in many ways. But I was brushing my teeth this morning and several guys passed by our wall on their way to work at the racecourse or the local nursery. For some reason, they were in high spirits and broke into song. I've heard Sydney's a clean and beautiful city, but I doubt you would wake up there to an impromptu performance by a bunch of ordinary workers giving life to the sort of rhythms and harmonies made popular internationally by groups such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It's more than a music - it's an archetypal evocation of the spirit of a land before time, a celebration of something that lies in the structure of the rock of the world. It's deeper and more rhythmic than anything I've ever experienced in any other type of music, sounding as though it comes from chests much broader and more resonant than the norm. It's the spirit that hold this weird continent together. And it makes Cape Town an intrinsic part of Africa. Made me fell bloody good to be a part of it - brushing my teeth, this morning.

The WSSD blog is here:
http://www.dailysummit.net/

Hi, yeah, I was curious about Bush's logging plan. I didn't know how much was already being done about removing lower-lying, erm, plant life to help prevent forest fires, along with a controlled burn before summer kicks in.

But I'm just talking out of my arse, I'm an urban girl who's not spent much time in the woods, let alone had personal experience with the real effects of deforestation.

Give Bush a few years, Andrea -- you'll be able to see deforestation up close and personal every time you drive through a forest near your home.

Mike Golby's comments stir feelings in me, an exiled and homesick Capetonian (sounds like you live in Kenilworth, Mike, close to where we stayed with our daughter last summer). I was also going to comment on the fact of having the summit in Jo'burg in the winter months, when it is leafless and the ground is burnt brown by frost and veld-fires, the air is dry and dusty and thin, burns your nasal passages, and it takes a week or two to get acclimatized. Breeds fantastic hangovers too, and if you're prone to upper respiratory tract infections, you're going to get them there. All of which may help to explain the lack of positive impact which I'm sure will be the result of this show.