Evolution of Consciousness

Ryan Questioned on Medicare-for-All by Sam Husseini

The Science of Genocide by Chris Hedges

Bring Back Glass-Steagal by Matt Taibbi

That Old Martial Spirit by James Kunstler

Regarding that letter from MRC in last week’s paper [“Hack & Squirt Looks Bad“], I’d first like to thank Mr. Jani for the attempt. Anything is better than nothing, however, I thought his note was most peculiar in what it did not address, which is the public’s obvious distaste for being poisoned. Instead, Mr. Jani focused obsessively on the “visual impact,” which almost made it sound more like an internal memo: “Guys, we screwed up, it’s too visible, the natives are restless, we’ve got to go back to hiding this better.” The effect of Mr. Jani’s message, to those of us being poisoned, was not reassuring.

His careful subject avoidance reminded me of the tobacco industry, who for decades after everyone else had figured it out, kept pretending that there was no connection between smoking and cancer. A big difference in these two situations is that one could choose not to be a smoker; whereas, here, we are unwilling participants in MRC’s poisoning of the environment.

If you haven’t already done so, take a drive out Comptche Ukiah Road, three to six miles east of Comptche. You’ll get the “visual impact” Mr. Jani was talking about. The ugly brown is one thing, but the real story is those thousands of dead trees, perched steeply above the headwaters of the Albion River, have all been killed with a highly toxic herbicide. Their fallen leaves are now sliding down canyon walls toward the river, rainy season is coming, and we know the herbicide used to kill those trees, imazapyr, is both mobile and persistent. I mourn for the people throughout the Albion River watershed. The toxic load heading your way is criminal.

I mourn for all of us in western Mendocino County. What you can see along the Comptche Ukiah Road this year, MRC has been doing in more hidden locations all along. From our property, we see large fields of MRC Brown along tributaries of the Navarro River. MRC averages two tons of imazapyr on over five thousand acres every year. That’s a huge toxic load on us all. Doesn’t it seem like too many people are getting cancer these days? MRC is helping make that happen.

How can we make them stop? What these corporate types care about is money, so I suggest boycotting Home Depot (which distributes MRC lumber) and the five clothing businesses of the principal owners: Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, and Athleta. Tell these businesses what you’re doing and why. Spread the word. Together we can create something that matters to these people: financial impact.

Information on Mendocino Redwood Company’s widespread use of toxins in Mendocino County…

Website with updated information (2015) on the fire danger from poisoned trees left standing in the woods:

• www.deadforest.org

An online petition:

• Stop the Use of Deadly Herbicides

Letters we’ve sent to our local newspaper:

• Poisoning Us for Profit (June, 2012)
• Big Neighbor, Bad Habit (July, 2012)
• Toxic Load on the Albion (August, 2012)
• Insane Corporate Plunder (September, 2012)
• BTU-tiful (March, 2013)

Photos taken near Comptche, California, August 2012:

• Welcome ; Hack ; Panoramas [left] – [center] – [right] ; Come Again

Newspaper articles on the topic:

• Hack & Squirt, Part 1
• Hack & Squirt, Part 2
• Greenwashing Forest Destruction by FSC
• The Plight Of The Beautiful Tree
• MRC and the Supervisors Exchange Gifts
• 21st Century Timber Wars
• MRC — Same Old Same Old
• The Lumber Man In Charge of Climate Policy
• Greenpeace’s MRC Greenwash

Current and previous actions against these poisonings:

• Proposed Ordinance Prohibiting Dead Standing Trees (2015)
• Turtle Creek vs MRC (2011)
• Westport Municipal Advisory Council (2011)
• Albion River Watershed Protection Association (2004)
• Mendocino County Supervisors’ Resolution (1994)

Some pertinent data from MRC:

• MRC Herbicide Use (see Table 5)
• Map of MRC Land Holdings

More information:

• Imazapyr Factsheet by Caroline Cox
• Mendocino Redwood Company’s Forestry Pesticide Use by Britt Bailey
• Killing the Forest for the Trees by Elaine Kalantarian
• Health Risks High in Rural Areas by Pesticide Action Network
• Certified Destruction of California’s Ancient Redwood Forests FSC Watch
• Pesticide Use in Mendocino County’s Timber and Winegrape Industry by Britt Bailey

Interesting letter (“Sudden Oak Death Company“) in last week’s paper [Anderson Valley Advertiser] about the increased (and toxic) fire danger from MRC’s ever-metastasizing dead-tree zones.

To help illuminate the scale of what’s going on here, imagine a football field, including both endzones. Now cover that field with tanoak. That’s 1.3 acres.

Over the past 13 years (1999-2011) Mendocino Redwood Company has poisoned 70,659 acres. That’s an average of 5,435 acres (or 4,110 football fields) per year. And to accomplish this horrific waste, they release an average of 3,873 pounds (nearly two tons) of the highly toxic herbicide imazapyr into our local environment every year.

And where does all this toxic devastation take place? The majority of MRC’s holdings lie between the towns of Willits, Boonville, Point Arena, and Mendocino; and within that rough diamond, MRC appears to own more than half the land.

Folks, we’ve got a big neighbor with a real bad habit. It’s a shame we’ve let them get away with this much. Help put an end to the madness by contacting the perpetrators at mrc.com or 707-463-5110. They won’t stop until we insist.