Conscious Choice: War Against Timber Reaches Chicago

December 2004 | Choice News

War Against Timber Reaches Chicago

The front-line battles in the war to save North America’s old-growth forests, including those in British Columbia, Canada, are sometimes played out thousands of miles away — even in Chicago.

“The North American Wholesale Lumber Association (NAWLA), a free-trade global timber cartel, is based in the metro Chicago area,” said Karen Ganey, who traveled from Portland, Ore., to participate in a protest against NAWLA’s annual trade show, which was held recently at the downtown Hyatt Regency hotel. “[Trees from] endangered forests are being distributed through the Chicago area, and if the city is truly as green as it claims, people should pressure these distribution centers to shift their products to sustainably harvested forest products,” she said.

Ganey, a representative of ForestEthics, was among the activists called to Chicago by the San Francisco-based Rainforest Action Network, which helped organize the protest against the timber trade group. NAWLA, consisting of more than 650 of the largest forest products companies in the world, has its headquarters in Rolling Meadows. Its trade show was attended by more than 1,500 member affiliates.

NAWLA is one of the oldest organizations in the business and one of the most politically active, donating $6.7 million to the Republican Party in 2000, Ganey said.

The lumber group, which describes itself on its Web site as “The global network of channel partners in the lumber and building materials industry,” is in a unique position to influence the direction of that industry, said Ganey, who is particularly concerned about old-growth lumbering practices in British Columbia.

“We are targeting NAWLA to expose the role that NAWLA plays in the global destruction of endangered forests and indigenous communities. We demand that NAWLA stop buying, selling, and logging endangered forests worldwide,” said Ganey.

NAWLA representatives declined to comment or provide statistics for this report, but according to ForestEthics’ Web site the United States imports about 700 million board feet of lumber from British Columbia every month. That is roughly 68 percent of the total British Columbia lumber production and 16 percent of total U.S. demand, according to the Web site. The loss of the trees in British Columbia’s unique “inland temperate rainforest,” the only one in the world, threatens the survival of at least two indigenous species: the mountain caribou, and the rare Kermode Bear.

The Kermode bear is also known as the spirit bear due to a recessive gene that gives about one in 10 bears a white coat. Not a polar bear, nor an albino, the Kermode Bear is actually a type of black bear. Populations are estimated at 1,200. British Columbia, the sole habitat of the Kermode bear, has no endangered species act. And while hunting was once a threat to these bears, logging now represents the greatest challenge to their survival.

Founded in 1994 as the Clayoquot Rainforest Coalition, ForestEthics is a leader in the fight to stop the destruction of North America’s old-growth forests. Besides targeting companies dealing directly with wood and wood products, the group has also led campaigns that resulted in a decision by both Kinko’s and Staples to convert to using 30 percent post-consumer recycled paper products. Other campaigns that targeted Home Depot and IKEA helped lead to an agreement between logging companies and the government of British Columbia to cease logging in the Great Bear Forest on British Columbia’s coast. For more information visit www.forestethics.org or Rainforest Action Network at www.ran.org. — Geoffrey Wallin

Cahokia Art Reveals Advanced Society

UNTIL RELATIVELY recent times, the story of the advanced society of Cahokia slept beneath what is now Collinsville, Ill.

Today, at an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago, you can get a glimpse into the lives of the 13th century people who lived in the largest pre-Colombian civilization yet discovered in North America, according to art historian and exhibit curator Richard Townsend.

But what makes Hero, Hawk and Open Hand unique is that it challenges assumptions that have existed since Victorian-era archeologists concluded that early Native Americans were incapable of such high levels of artistry, Townsend said.

The exhibit features hundreds of works of stone, ceramic, copper, shell, and wood.

“These artifacts flesh out the story of this ritual center and exhibit an artistic mastery previously unacknowledged by academics,” said James Brown, an anthropologist and professor at Northwestern University. Brown was among the anthropologists, archeologists, historians, and tribal leaders who worked to uncover the site on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River across from St. Louis.

Research indicates that Cahokia Indians participated in trading networks that stretched across the continent using waterways. “Repeated symbology and imagery of the hero, hawk and open hand on artifacts discovered as far away as San Francisco reflect an extraordinary level of social and political complexity,” Brown said.

An evolutionary peak occurred in Illinois and along the Ohio, Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas rivers between 1000 and 1250 A. D., resulting in great earthen pyramids, plazas and towns like Cahokia, which was home to as many as 20,000 people, Townsend said.

“The exhibit represents a cultural recovery for the American Indian ... [and] establishes continuity between indigenous tribes of today and their ancestors.”

This is especially important because while the traditions and beliefs of other ancient civilizations in South America, China and Mexico have survived and are celebrated by successive generations, early North Americans suffer from a loss of connection with the culture of their birth, according to Townsend.

“These civilizations have been largely ignored,” he said.

North American tribal members were forced to abandon traditional religion, beliefs, native language and customs as European colonialism moved across the continent.

“The American Revolutionary period resulted in a separation between Indians of today and their ancestors,” said Townsend. “We should honor their history as it is part of all of our collective heritage.”

Townsend called upon modern traditional tribal artisans such as Jereldine RedCorn and her husband, Charles RedCorn, to help with the exhibit. The RedCorns, members of the Caddo Tribe in Norman, Okla., worked on the exhibit catalog.

“I think it is so inspiring to see people become familiar with old traditions,” Jereldine RedCorn said. “It is central to the survival of our people, families and clans.”

RedCorn is the only member of 35,000 Caddoan people in her tribe still practicing the 7,000-year-old method of hand-coiling ceramic pottery. But she said she is hopeful that others in her tribe will be encouraged to embrace their history when it has been recognized.

“It is about time the larger population acknowledged the accomplishments of our ancestors,” RedCorn said.

RedCorn is scheduled to demonstrate “Traditional Caddo Pottery” at the Art Institute on Nov. 20, from 11 a.m to noon and 1 to 2 p.m.

Hero, Hawk and Open Hand will be on display until Jan. 30, 2005, at the Art Institute, 111 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60603. For more information, call 312-443-3600 or visit via the Internet at www.artic.edu/aic. — Erin Meyer

Give Wisely in the Season of Giving

THERE ARE 1.6 million non-profit organizations hoping to win your donation dimes or dollars, according to the Chicago-based American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP).

If you decide to give, how can you determine the legitimate organizations? And how can you stop the deluge of other solicitations that not only waste your time, but precious paper as well?

Daniel Borochoff, president and founder of the AIP points out one solid way to evaluate an organization asking for donations.

“One sign that a charity is not legitimate is if the charity or its representatives pressure a donor to give immediately,” Borochoff said. “A legitimate charity would never pressure a donor in such a manner.”

According to Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, “The most helpful thing is to either ask the charity for written information on its programs and finances, and/or seek out additional facts from outside sources.”

The AIP’s site has a tips section that offers specific things to look for (and look out for) when considering a charity. Check out the articles section, which has a variety of information, including a printable form that you can mail to help prevent unwanted solicitations. When you send this form, you can ask that the charity remove your name from their list, limit the amount of solicitations they send and/or request they not rent or sell your information to others without your permission. This is a terrific way to cut down on the amount of paper being sent to your home. Write them at:

The American Institute of Philanthropy, 3450 N. Lake Shore Drive, Suite 2802E; P.O. Box 578460, Chicago, IL 60657; www.charitywatch.org.

More specifically, there are many organizations that you can turn to for information on a particular charity. Here are some resources that will help you weed out the good from the bad, and cut down on the unwanted solicitations that flood your mailbox:

BBB Wise Giving Alliance gives detailed information on everything from how to donate a car to what to look for if you are considering sponsoring a child. There is an alphabetized index of charities that you can search for information and a section for inquiries or complaints.

BBB Wise Giving Alliance, 4200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 800, Arlington, VA 22203; www.give.org.

The Federal Trade Commission offers a good “checklist” of precautions to take when evaluating an organization and a section to file an online complaint if you feel you have been treated badly by a particular charity. www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/ pubs/tmarkg/charity.htm.

National Database of Nonprofit Organizations offers consumer access at no charge to information on more than one million non-profit organizations that are stored in their database. www.guidestar.org.

National Association of State Charity Officials provides a link to the U.S. State Charity Offices. The point of contact for charitable solicitations is usually the attorney general’s office, where you may also file a complaint against an organization. www.nasconet.org.

The Direct Marketing Association presents consumers three options for removing your name from mailing lists, again cutting down on unnecessary mailings. Two are free mail-in options, and the third is an online form that has a $5 charge. Signing up is only good for five years.

Mail Preference Service, The Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 643, Carmel, NY 15012-0643; Visit the Web site www.dmaconsumers.org. — Catherine L. Tully & J. Wallace

Andersonville Fights to Retain Its Charm

DURING THE weekend rush it’s not unusual to have to take a number and hope no one else grabs that last loaf of sun-dried tomato bread or the marzipan princess torte at the Swedish Bakery, 5348 N. Clark St. The lines can be long, but the customers, who come from across the metropolitan area, don’t seem to mind. That kind of customer loyalty is part of the reason why the North Side Andersonville area is a resounding success story at a time when many small-business districts across the country are being forced to close their doors by the large chains.

But business owners in the quaint commercial area, which ripples out from Clark Street, have reason to be concerned. The neighborhood’s vitality and the rising income level of residents have not gone unnoticed by chains that are expressing interest in opening new locations on Clark Street, said Ellen Shepard, executive director of the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce.

So, in an effort to help the area retain its charm and character, local lawmakers said they plan to use a recent study to lobby the City of Chicago and the Illinois General Assembly to enact measures to protect the area and its local businesses.

The “Andersonville Study of Retail Economics,” commissioned by the not-for-profit Andersonville Development Corp., found that such protection would be good for the city, the neighborhood and local businesses such as the Swedish Bakery. The family bakery was opened in the early part of the 20th century when Swedish immigrants started moving into the area in search of affordable housing.

While neighborhood demographics have shifted to reflect a more diverse population, including a growing number of Korean, Lebanese and Mexican residents, most businesses remain independently owned. Ten of these locally owned retail stores, restaurants and service providers were compared to publicly held chain stores by researchers for Civics Economics, an independent economics consulting firm based in the neighborhood. The study concluded, among other things, that “across the board, locally-owned businesses substantially exceed their chain competitors in all four components (of labor, profit, procurement and charity). ... Local firms spent an average of 28 percent of revenue on labor compared to 23 percent for chains. ... Profits largely remain in the city. Local firms procure local goods and services at more than twice the rate of chains, [and] locally-owned firms ... contribute more to local charities.”

In addition, local businesses keep 70 percent more of the money they generate in the community, according to the study.

The findings also challenge the argument for allowing large retail stores to move into communities — the amount of money they bring into Chicago through sales taxes, Shepard said.

“One of the most important findings is that locally owned businesses and chain stores generate the same profit-per-square foot,” said Shepard. “That means that the chain stores aren’t bringing in any more sales tax for the city than local businesses.”

There are several ideas being discussed to help preserve the neighborhood and its local businesses.

One measure that should be considered, according to Shepard, is reforming property taxes to help the small businesses. “If there is not property tax reform that shifts some of the burden off small businesses the rest of our efforts will be a moot point because the businesses will not be able to stay in their spaces,” she said.

State Rep. Harry Osterman (D-14), who has lived in the community most of his life, said measures being considered include changing the zoning laws, or introduction of an ordinance to protect local business owners similar to a measure passed in San Francisco.

San Francisco inacted a formula business ordinance that allows residents to set the climate for local businesses. When a national brand or chain store applies to open a new location the neighborhood holds a public hearing to consider the applicant and subject the company to a list of criteria. In addition, the ordinance bans chain stores in the four-block Hayes Valley business district, an area similar in makeup to Andersonville’s Clark Street commercial center.

“What’s happening in Andersonville will soon happen all over in Chicago’s collar counties,” said Osterman. “We have a chance to set a precedent.”

Alderman Patrick J. O’Connor (40th Ward) said he has taken the study to the City of Chicago’s Law Office.

“We are looking for a vehicle to preserve this element of Andersonville, something akin to an historic district,” O’Connor said. “Andersonville is struggling to maintain a uniqueness of neighborhood that is disappearing all over the United States.”

Visit www.andersonvillestudy.com, www.newrules.org or www.sustainablechicago.org, or call the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, 773-728-2995 for more information. — Erin Meyer

Grounds for Humor in Your Cup of Joe

JUST WHEN you thought the gourmet coffee market was saturated or jittery or both, along comes Political Grounds, a new subsidiary of the Seattle-based Rushmore Enterprises. Its new line of premium coffees was introduced at the National Press Club in September and samples were passed out at both the Democratic and Republican national conventions. Why all the Beltway brew-ha-ha? Because Political Grounds intends for its customers to make a statement with the coffee they sip. Some examples (you judge whether it’s funny or gimmicky — or both): Flubba-Dubya’s Campfire Coffee (from Ethiopia), Kerry’s Camelot Café (Colombian), Osama’s Mama (Costa Rican), Say Howdy Saudi (decaffeinated) and Jumpin’ Jihad Java (Espresso). The labels will change quarterly or monthly (yesterday’s coffee filter is old news, we presume). Company executives provide an incentive give-back of 50 cents per pound to participating charitable and nonprofit organizations who establish a foundation or trust specifically for humanitarian projects. Visit the Web site www.politicalgrounds.com. — Andrew Mulholland

Root of the Holiday Tree Dilemma

FOR THOSE who love Christmas traditions but have a problem cutting down a tree just for a few weeks of holiday decoration, there is a great way to mark Yuletide and celebrate both Christmas and Arbor Day in one fell swoop.

A living Christmas tree with its root ball intact may involve a little more work, but it really is a gift that keeps on giving. After the holiday season, the tree can be planted outside and enhance the landscape.

“We have people that do it every year,” said Dawn Peterson of Oney’s Tree Farm in Woodstock, Ill. “It’s fun for a lot of families because it becomes a living memorial.”

The everlasting evergreen can become a living reminder of a first Christmas that will mature right along with the child.

If you decide to buy a live tree with a root ball and intend to plant it outside, remember that it still needs sunlight and water while inside. And it should not be kept in the house for more than a couple of weeks and needs to be replanted right away. Because of the Chicago area’s cold temperatures, it’s a good idea to dig the hole beforehand and store some of the loose dirt in the garage or basement so unfrozen dirt is on-hand for replanting. Tree farmers also suggest you place mulch in the hole, to help the tree take root.

Keep in mind, “the bigger the tree, the bigger the root ball, and if you keep the tree in the house for very long, that’s not good because the trees don’t like to go from the warm to the cold,” said Dave Shoemaker, president of the Illinois Christmas Tree Association and proprietor of Ridge Road Tree Farm outside of Urbana.

Don’t have a yard? Trees can be donated to various groups including 4-H clubs and Future Farmers of America. Such donations are tax deductible.

For more information or to purchase a Christmas tree with a root ball check out: Oney’s Tree Farm, 16608 Rt. 14, Woodstock, IL 60098; phone 815-338-4108; or visit the Web site: www.oneystreefarm.com.

Or Ridge Road Tree Farm, 1128 County Road 1500 East, Urbana, IL 61802; phone: 217- 684-2535; Web site: www.ridgeroadtreefarm.com. — Geoffrey Wallin

Kriya Technique Provides a Breather

WHILE WE seem to be bombarded with stories about alternative medicine being accepted as a partner to mainstream medicine, many of these treatments remain a luxury. It’s nice then that some Chicago Public School students had a rare opportunity when they took part in a pilot program to teach them Sudarshan Kriya, a 5,000-year-old breathing and meditation technique.

“The psychological health of our youth is the most important factor in creating a more peaceful society,” said Pam Brockman, youth program director at the Art of Living Foundation, which bills itself on its Web site as an international non-profit educational and humanitarian organization.

“Most native cultures had common shared methods of meditation to help deal with stress and anger,” said Emily Lifton, a breathing instructor who recently taught Sudarshan Kriya to students at Roberto Clemente High School on the city’s West Side. “These kids have no outlet and they have a lot to deal with. ... One of the students told me ‘I learned how to act instead of react.’”

The program, which was funded through donations, has the potential to reduce violence in schools, according to Brockman.

“After participating, students develop the ability to control themselves better in highly stressful situations,” she said. “Young people normally handle negative emotions in one of two ways. Some suppress their feelings and others project their negative emotions outward onto others.”

A handful of teachers at Clemente who recently graduated from the breathing course raved about its effectiveness in dealing with high-stress environments, said Carmen Rodriguez, assistant principal of Clemente.

“At first the students thought it was all a big joke,” Rodriguez said. “In my 31 years at Clemente I have seen a lot of programs come and go but this one is different. ... One particular male student who had been giving us a lot of problems has really improved ... and he wants to continue the practice.”

The effectiveness of the Sudarshan Kriya method has been documented by Richard P. Brown, a child psychiatrist and associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University in New York. “Children glow after the Youth Empowerment Seminar,” he said. “I cannot imagine a better remedy for stress and violence in schools.”

For more information, e-mail research@artofliving.org or call 847-564-5947. — Erin Meyer

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