Opal Creek
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Opal Creek" assesses logging from opposite ends of the spectrum. The pros and cons, economic benefits, and environmental damage. The movie gave incite about the on-going battle with loggers, economists, and environmentalists. On a side note before going into depth, there was recently an article in the Washington Post about a woman that lived in a tree for 2 years because she was protesting, so that the tree would not be cut down, that shows true dedication to a cause as exemplified by some of the activists in the movie.
The destruction of "old growth" is one of the main logging issues. "Old growth" is a reference to the older, larger trees of the forest. These massive pieces of history are most often over both 200 years old and 200 feet tall. They are most desired by loggers because of the larger amount of timber per tree and less ground space taken away than cutting down 10 trees of a smaller size to get the same amount of wood. Loggers take the position that they are "clearing the forest of dead and rotting vegetation", as if Mother Nature cannot decay and fertilize itself and that humans need to regulate everything natural in the world. Logging these trees takes away shelter, food, and roots which are necessary to the survival of numerous species of animals...