On Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:22:42 -0500, Tom Sherman
<sunsetss0003@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>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".
I know. So what is your point?????
--
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
|
