Mike Vandeman wrote:
> On Sun, 03 Aug 2008 11:42:37 -0500, Tom Sherman
> <sunsetss0003@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>> Mike Vandeman wrote:
>>> On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 09:23:10 -0700, "Jeff Strickland"
>>> <crwlr@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>>
>>>> "Mike Vandeman" <mjvande@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>>> news:m8fa94tic93qmahfbppab6jtn2ch3jrrmq@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>>>> August 11,
>>>>> 1997
>>>>> Juan Antonio Samaranch
>>>>> President, International Olympic Committee
>>>>> Chateau de Vidy
>>>>> 1007 Lausanne, Switzerland
>>>>>
>>>>> Katia Mascagni Stivachtis, Chief, Section of Environmental Affairs
>>>>> Department of International Cooperation and Public Information
>>>>> International Olympic Committee
>>>>> Chateau de Vidy
>>>>> 1007 Lausanne, Switzerland
>>>>>
>>>>> Gentlepersons:
>>>>>
>>>>> I was delighted to learn (from your web page) that protection
>>>>> of the environment (after s****ts and culture) is now one of the main
>>>>> goals of the Olympics. The visibility and prestige of the Olympics
>>>>> give you enormous responsibility, especially toward young people,
who
>>>>> will be strongly influenced by what they see. As you well know,
>>>>> nonverbal learning is very powerful, and is for many people (e.g.
>>>>> preliterate children) the primary means by which the Olympics
teaches
>>>>> them about s****ts, culture, and the environment. People, especially
>>>>> children, assume that what they see on television, especially in the
>>>>> Olympics, is proper.
>>>>>
>>>>> Therefore, I was shocked, saddened, and embarrassed when I
>>>>> discovered that mountain biking has been accepted as an Olympic
s****t.
>>>>> I am enclosing several papers in which I explain in detail the harm
>>>>> that mountain biking inflicts on wildlife. But I will try to
summarize
>>>>> that information here.
>>>>>
>>>>> We are in the midst of a worldwide extinction crisis.
>>>>> According to the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of
>>>>> Nature and Natural Resources), one fourth of all of the world's
>>>>> animals are threatened with extinction. The primary threat is loss
of
>>>>> habitat. Such loss includes obvious, outright destruction, such as
>>>>> clearcutting and open-pit mining, but also the excessive presence of
>>>>> humans, which often causes wildlife to abandon their preferred
>>>>> habitat. In either case, the wildlife lose access to im****tant
>>>>> resources, such as certain food sources and potential mates. When
>>>>> judging effects on wildlife, it is essential to look at the
situation
>>>>> from their point of view, not ours. If they abandon an area, the
>>>>> habitat is effectively destroyed for them, regardless of what we
>>>>> think.
>>>>>
>>>>> The primary reason why mountain biking is harmful to wildlife,
>>>>> thus, is that it makes it much easier for people to get into
wildlife
>>>>> habitat. Mountain bikers don't just show up at the Olympics to race.
>>>>> They have to spend many hours training. And where do they prefer to
>>>>> ride? In wilderness (wildlife habitat). And what kind of trail do
they
>>>>> prefer to ride on? "Single-track" trails, which are primarily in
>>>>> wilderness, or at least the most natural part of any area. That is
>>>>> also, of course, the area preferred by wildlife. The Olympics are a
>>>>> powerful motivator. When people see a s****t in the Olympics, they
>>>>> identify with the athletes and want to participate in the s****t.
Thus,
>>>>> by simply including mountain biking in the Olympics, you unleash a
>>>>> tidal wave of people buying mountain bikes, flooding parks and
>>>>> wilderness areas, and participating in races. As is usual when there
>>>>> is an increase in recreation, wildlife lose more and more of their
>>>>> (already dangerously dwindling) habitat.
>>>>>
>>>>> The bicycle is a wonderful tool, but like any technological
>>>>> aid, it can be used for good (e.g. to replace auto travel) or evil
>>>>> (e.g. to expand man's domination of wildlife habitat). Similar
damage
>>>>> arises from the use of the use of other technologies, such as
climbing
>>>>> aids (extending man's reach onto cliffs), rafts (giving people
access
>>>>> to the entire length of a river), night-vision goggles (making
>>>>> night-time access to habitat easier), etc. Throughout our evolution,
>>>>> technological aids (e.g. guns, the internal combustion engine, etc.)
>>>>> have given us vastly more power than any other species, and the more
>>>>> we have wielded them, the more damage we have done. You had the
right
>>>>> idea when you banned s****ts that "depend essentially on mechanical
>>>>> propulsion". Technological aids have no place (or at most a minor
>>>>> place) in Olympic s****ts, which are based on simple physical
>>>>> activities like walking and swimming that measure the physical (e.g.
>>>>> strength and health) and spiritual (e.g. s****tsman****p) dimensions
of
>>>>> a human being, not of his or her tools.
>>>>>
>>>>> Many mountain bikers also lack s****tsman****p. They insist on
>>>>> riding even when their enjoyment conflicts with that of wildlife and
>>>>> other people. Elderly hikers are being driven off of hiking trails
>>>>> they have enjoyed all their lives. Threatened species have been
killed
>>>>> by bikers, who then try to pretend that it didn't happen or was
>>>>> insignificant. Anyone who speaks out against mountain biking is
>>>>> attacked viciously, as I have been and continue to be. My physical
>>>>> safety and that of my family have been threatened, for simply
telling
>>>>> the truth about the effects of mountain biking on wildlife. Many
>>>>> mountain bikers seem to see their goal as conquering anything and
>>>>> anyone in their path. I haven't seen such a lack of s****tsman****p in
>>>>> any other s****t (with the exception of professional wrestling and
one
>>>>> infamous instance in ice skating).
>>>>>
>>>>> Mountain biking also destroys vast numbers of organisms that
>>>>> live in and on soil, creating devastating erosion. One Olympic
>>>>> hopeful, for example, trained in Brown's Woods, DesMoines, Iowa,
where
>>>>> habitat destruction was so bad that the county was forced to close
the
>>>>> park to bikes. The knobby tires used by virtually all mountain
bikers
>>>>> are perfectly designed to rip up the soil and kill the plants and
>>>>> animals that live there. They insist on using those tires even
though
>>>>> they don't need that much traction unless they are traveling at
>>>>> excessive speed, or riding on steep slopes or wet ground where
biking
>>>>> is inappropriate.
>>>>>
>>>>> The Earth's environmental problems are so huge that they will
>>>>> not be solved without all of us doing our part. I appreciate that
you
>>>>> are striving to do your part, and are re-examining the Olympics with
>>>>> the environment in mind. I hope you will consider dropping mountain
>>>>> biking as an Olympic s****t, and take another look at all the other
>>>>> s****ts (e.g. canoeing, which also intrudes into im****tant wildlife
>>>>> habitat) from the point of view of wildlife.
>>>>>
>>>>> Sincerely,
>>>>>
>>>>> Michael J.
>>>>> Vandeman, Ph.D.
>>>>>
>>>>> P.S. A larger issue, of course, is whether an activity that requires
>>>>> the long-distance travel of thousands of people can ever be
>>>>> sustainable. I suggest that you recognize that the Earth's oil
>>>>> supplies will soon be exhausted (estimated by the experts at about
>>>>> 2040), and create a committee to begin planning for it. (E.g., how
do
>>>>> we want to make use of the oil that is left? Burn it up?!). Every
>>>>> organization should have such a committee!
>>>>>
>>>>> References:
>>>>>
>>>>> Ehrlich, Paul and Anne, Extinction: The Causes and Consequences of
the
>>>>> Disappearance of Species. c.1981.
>>>>>
>>>>> Knight, Richard L. and Kevin J. Gutzwiller, eds. Wildlife and
>>>>> Recreationists. Covelo, California: Island Press, c.1995.
>>>>>
>>>>> Phillips, Kathryn, Tracking the Vani****ng Frogs: An Ecological
>>>>> Mystery. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994.
>>>>>
>>>>> Stebbins, Robert, personal communication.
>>>>>
>>>>> Vandeman, Michael J., Ph.D.
>>>>> http://www.imaja.com/change/environment/mvarticles/
>>>>> --
>>>>> I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
>>>>> humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
>>>>> years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)
>>>>>
>>>>> Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you
are
>>>>> fond of!
>>>>>
>>>>> http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande
>>> You finally started making sense!
>> WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
>>
>> Look at the thread title, Mike.
>
> Did you have a point?
Yeah, but you missed it, despite its obviousness.
--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
“Mary had a little lamb / And when she saw it sicken /
She ****pped it off to Packingtown / And now it’s labeled chicken.”
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