CAN'T SEE THE TERRORIST FOR THE TREES

another non-net/art post. but holy crap!

> CAN'T SEE THE TERRORIST FOR THE TREES
>
> Not content to let timber companies chop down trees
in the name of fire prevention, the Bush
administration now has a new rationale for
clear-cutting in national forests: preventing
terrorism. According to the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, overgrown forests could be used as
hiding places for terrorist cells planning attacks on
U.S. cities and civilian populations. The department
has proposed creating tree-free "clearance zones" of
at least five miles around major population centers
and reducing the acreage of dense, overgrown forests
on federal lands by at least two-thirds by 2007. The
administration is also considering transferring
control over parts of the national forest and park
systems to Homeland Security agencies, and replacing
trained foresters with
"security rangers" who would cruise forests looking
for suspicious activities. Enviros expressed outrage
that the administration would use fears of terrorism
as an excuse to open up national forests to more
logging.
>
> straight to the source: Denver Post, Alexander
Harris, 01 Apr 2003
>
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id