So it would appear that the trees are important to us for a number a reasons. It would make for an interesting social and cultural study to look at populations that have extensive wood supplies and compare them with similar groups that do not. I bet that wooded societies are healthier and happier and probably wealthier. The anthropologists talk to us about Stone Age and Bronze Age societies but there must be a Wooden Age in there somewhere. I would guess that our complex master - slave relationship with our cellulosic neighbours must be an important part of our development.
In our own little corner of the world we have a property here at ABU where the campus sits on a much larger parcel of land that was clear-cut in the early 1970's. That is our best bet for the photo below. Notice that the highway has not been twinned and the old farm property that was here before ABU is still intact. In terms of the clear cut it makes for an interesting comment that the parts that were not clear cut are the high ground between Gorge Road and the Gorge Brook, the Gorge Brook area itself and a boggy area in the North - East sector of the property.
What I like about this early view of the property is that it clearly shows the property borders since I am sure the woodcutters would have cut right to the border with the neighbours. It also clearly shows where the logging roads are and that might be useful for access to the woods today.If we now look at the 2005 Google Earth view of the ABU property we can see that the scrub forest has covered the property again. Up close it is a nasty tangle of poplar, birch and swamp maple with a seasoning of conifers. But it is treed and starting the natural process of succession from cleared land to conifer forest. What is also clear is the gaping hole in the property that is the surface pit for fill that worked the property from the time of the last clear cut and left about a quarter of the property stripped down below the subsoil leaving an almost Mordor like blasted moonscape of scum, slime and tufts of mis-begotten grass.
Well, it looks like we are going to be here for a while and it is clear that the good Lord gave us trees to save us from ourselves so I think we had better start planting some trees.
Of course there is a very emotional response, the elephant is iconic for Africa in the same sense that the polar bear is iconic for Canada. There is also a real appreciation that elephants are long lived mammals with strong family ties and apparently real emotions. No one would say they are sentient or conscious but some would argue their intelligence.
And this one is waving good-bye from the waters of Freshwater Bay close to Cape Spear. Like I say, unless we can articulate a reasoned argument for continued protection I fail to see why limited hunts similar to the ones we have for polar bears, elephants and buffalo should not be allowed.
In fact the only way we can separate handed molecules is with another handed molecule. The question of course is where the broken symmetry comes from but that is an issue for another day. Suffice it to say that chemists have a unique interest in any sort of process that is capable of sorting left and right handed objects.
But, but, but ... it's a NATURAL compound! Nature wouldn't hurt us would it? I mean just who is in charge here maybe we should just show Nature who's the boss. Yeah, that's what we will do. We will kick old Nature right where it hurts, we will pollute the ground, water and air and spit in Nature's eye and tell it to do its best. I mean really what can it do if we drag chemicals out of all natural chemical contexts and use the chemicals in ways that Nature never intended?
I like this compound I like it 
This has just gotta be the coolest compound on the toxic list. No organic modelling kit will allow you to build this simple molecule because three 
This is one fancy family of environmentally hazardous chemicals. The cyclic 
