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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
ACTION
ALERT: 84 Lumber Bucks Old Growth Free Trend
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Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org
http://forests.org/ -- Forest
Conservation Archives
http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest
Conservation
04/21/00
OVERVIEW
& COMMENTARY
Rainforest
Action Network states below, "a new ethic has emerged in
the
marketplace in which old growth logging is viewed as outdated,
unnecessary,
and unethical." Home Depot, HomeBase,
Menard's, Wickes,
Lowes,
B&Q, OBI, Centex Homes and Kaufman & Broad have stated that
they
understand it is imperative to conserve remaining old-growth
forests
and have committed to changing their business practices to do
so (and
we will be watching to ensure they do).
84 Lumber
increasingly
stands alone in their unapologetic and continuing
consumption
of the World's ancient forests.
Resistance is futile--
companies
that show an unabashed unwillingness to protect the
environment
will go out of business; those that embrace a new
environmentally
based paradigm will own the market while doing what is
right
for the Planet and their children.
Please respond to this
action
alert and send email and write letters to further advance the
campaign
to end consumption of old-growth forest products. "It is
time to
end the barbaric practice of old growth logging once and for
all."
g.b.
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TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: 84 Lumber Bucks Old Growth Free Trend
Action Alert 149: April/May 2000
Source: Rainforest Action Network, http://www.ran.org/
Status: Distribute freely with credit given to
source
Date: April 21, 2000
MAHOGANY
DOORS FROM THE AMAZON RAINFOREST. Cedar shingles from the
temperate
rainforests of North America. Lauan plywood from the
tropical
forests of Southeast Asia. These are just some of the old
growth
forest products available at an 84 Lumber near you.
In the
past year, many of the nation's leading home improvement
retailers
including Home Depot, HomeBase, Menard's, Wickes, and Lowe's
have
committed to stop selling old growth wood products. Europe's B &
Q and
OBI, the world's third and sixth largest home improvement
retailers,
have already begun to shift to more sustainable wood
sources.
84 Lumber, however, continues to sell products made from some
of the
Earth's most endangered old growth forests.
Founded
in 1956, 84 Lumber is the nation's largest privately-owned
retail
building materials company and the fifth largest home
improvement
retailer overall in the United States. The company's long
history
and steady growth make it an increasingly powerful retailer of
lumber
and building materials. Unfortunately, 84 Lumber has refused to
join
other industry leaders in working towards an end to ancient
forest
destruction.
Every
day that 84 Lumber waits has dire consequences for the forests.
Between
1980 and 1990, the Brazilian Amazon lost ninety-one million
acres
of tropical forest. At current rates, nearly all of Southeast
Asia's unprotected
old growth forests will be destroyed within the
next
decade. In coastal British Columbia, only 68 out of 353 pristine
watersheds
have escaped logging, and nearly every one that remains is
slated
to be logged within the next ten years.
Recognizing
the need to protect our remaining ancient forests, the
nation's
two largest home builders, Centex Homes and Kaufman & Broad,
recently
agreed to stop using old growth wood in home construction.
"We
know that the world's old growth forests are threatened," said
Jeff
Mezger of Kaufman and Broad. "Ultimately, it is the
responsibility
of every individual and corporate citizen to do their
part
for forest conservation."
Clearly,
a new ethic has emerged in the marketplace in which old
growth
logging is viewed as outdated, unnecessary, and unethical. The
world's
largest home improvement retailers and the country's largest
home
builders are committing to phase out wood from endangered
forests.
It is time to end the barbaric practice of old growth logging
once
and for all.
84
Lumber's competitors in the home improvement industry plan to phase
out old
growth wood and instead offer more ecologically sound
alternatives,
including reclaimed and recycled lumber, composite
lumber,
and independently certified wood. These companies have
responded
to the changing values of the American public and are taking
crucial
steps to help preserve the Earth's ancient forests. If these
companies
can do it, why can't 84 Lumber?
What
You Can Do!
Seventy-eight
percent of the world's original old growth forests have
already
been logged or degraded. Please write to 84 Lumber today!
Demand
that they commit to a reasonable timeline to phase out sales of
old
growth wood.
Write
to Ms. Margaret Hardy Magerko, President of 84 Lumber, or send
an
email to her at campbellr@84lumber.com , using the sample letter
below
or editing to include your own position (you can send the email
message
automatically from RAN's site at:
http://www.ran.org/ran/info_center/aa/aa149.html
)
Ms.
Margaret Hardy Magerko
President
84
Lumber
Route
519, PO Box 8484
Eighty
Four, PA 15384
Email:
campbellr@84lumber.com
Dear
Ms. Magerko,
I am
writing to urge 84 Lumber to stop selling wood from old growth
forests.
As a leader in the home improvement industry, you are in a
unique
position to help preserve our ancient forests for future
generations.
Sadly,
over seventy-eight percent of the world's original old growth
forests
have already been logged or degraded. Our remaining forests
are
being logged and then converted into products such as doors,
shingles,
and plywood found on the shelves of 84 Lumber.
With so
many alternative products available, there is no reason for
this
destruction to continue. Several major home improvement
retailers,
including Home Depot, HomeBase, Wickes, Menards, and
Lowe's,
have already committed to eliminate their sales of old growth
forest
products.
I
strongly believe in the importance of protecting the Earth's last
ancient
forests. I hope to support 84 Lumber as
a company that
shares
my values. Please let me know what action your company plans
to take
on this critical issue.
Sincerely,
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TEXT ENDS###
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