Mike Vandeman wrote:
> 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.
Jeff Strickland changed the thread subject from "Why Mountain Biking
Shouldn't Be an Olympic S****t" to "Why Mike Vandeman should have his
Internet disconnected".
--
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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