Tasmania’s Grassroots
RAN has joined the effort down in Tasmania (that little island off the south-eastern coast of Australia) against logging company Gunns Ltd. Lots of amazing activists down under who are coming out of every nook and cranny to protest the company’s horrible forestry practices. We launched TreesNotGunns.org as a way to get folks tied into the campaign all over the world. We had a great opening day with protests in 8 major cities across the globe. You can see it all at TreesNotGunns.org.
Today we just got news that the over 3,000 people gathered on Parliament Lawns in downtown Hobart to get the attention of the government and Gunns.
.jpg "Hobart rally defending Tasmania's forests")
I have to say its pretty ridiculous that it takes this many people to even get on the radar of political leaders. Whats more amazing is that protests against Gunns been going on for many years, often including tens of thousands of people. How many protest movements has America had with a similar ratio?
Tas has just shy of 500,000 citizens while the U.S. has over 295 million. A comparable protest in D.C. would look like 1.5 million people on the Congressional lawn. What if that gathering of people were not protesting a government decision but a corporate action? What if those people were asking Weyerhaeuser to get out off Grassy Narrows? I have to believe that if 1.3 million people stood up for a sensible forestry policy in D.C. or Ottawa that Weyerhaeuser would listen up.
Let’s hope Gunns starts listening and stops stalling. What do they have to lose besides the hearts and minds of Tasmania?
One Response to “Tasmania’s Grassroots”
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June 15th, 2007 at 2:59 am
actually since Australia has a population of 20 million a A comparable protest in D.C. would look like 50,000 people on the Congressional lawn….
but i love tassys forests