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Old 01-19-2016, 07:01 PM   #42
Marin
Scraping Paint
 
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 13,745
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hawgwash View Post
But really, how many trees has anyone here seen killed by a stern line? Other than the ones pulled out by the roots.
Personally I believe the argument that something doesn't happen because we don't happen to see it is an unrealistic and outdated excuse for acting irresponsibly.

The business of tree damage due to stern tying is not something I dreamed up; I've seen it commented on in articles over the years by people in Washington and BC whose job it is to observe, study and evaluate all sorts of aspects along this coast, from the plight of the cormorants to the health of harbor porpoises to the state of the glaciers to the health trends exhibited by the trees.

Sure, stern tying is not a huge factor here. But big pictures are made up bazillions of little ones. A single dead or dying tree due to repeated abrasion of the bark by boaters is one less in the population. Take a blind eye or an "it doesn't matter" attitude toward that, and when does the "now it matters" attitude kick in? After twenty of them have died? A hundred? Ten thousand?

I'm not militant environmentalist but I have come to have an increasing contempt for people who take a blase attitude toward life on this planet we all live in. I suspect it's an attitude that comes with time and the increasing realization that the very short life in the overall scheme of things each of us has on this planet is truly special. So why deprive something else of its life when we don't have to?

I think Xsbank's closing sentence in his prior post is what's important here. Every little bit makes a difference.
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