On Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:53:02 -0500, Tom Sherman
<sunsetss0003@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>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.
It still isn't obvious, which is why I asked.
--
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
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