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Bee Stings Greens Readers of the Sacramento [California] Bee during the week of April 22-27 were beneficiaries of a six-day series of in-depth articles on conflicts of interest, institutional bias, and ideological blindness of organizations within the green movement, both big and small. Pulitzer Prize-winning environmental report Tom Knudson finds organizations more interested in suing federal agencies than in protecting special habitat from fire-and very, very interested in where their next dollar is coming from. In general, Knudson finds himself on the side of scientists and locally based conservation specialists, who find their studies distorted and local projects ignored in the steady push to deepen conflict and develop phrases for direct-mail pieces. Within this Babylon of overpaid executives and dissembled motives, in the series' final article Knudson sees the beginnings of a new, less conflictive green movement, although his evidence is largely anecdotal. It may be something of a disappointment to find Knudson approving the growing movement toward conservation easements and outright habitat purchases by conservation organizations, in lieu of a deeper engagement with the resource industries. Still, the chairman of Conservation International's confessing that "the problem with direct mail is that it requires exaggeration" is only one of many revelations that come out in this extensive investigation. Presently, all six articles are posted for general viewing at the Bee's web site at www.sacbee.com/news/projects/environment/index02.html, although they will probably soon be moved to its pay-per-view archive. Back to "News" Forest Resources Association
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