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Until Oct. 19, there had been nothing in the papers concerning the forest practices referendum that merited a rebuttal. However, I read a woods products industry advertisement (40 pages) that was an appendage to the Oct. 19 issue of the Bangor Daily News. Brian Swartz, BDN special sections editor, provided an editorial for the ad that was quite biased against environmentalists, even though it only mentions “radical environmentalists.”
Swartz recounts parts of a speech which Dr. Patrick Moore made at the Maine Paper Expo back in March. The expo was sponsored by the Maine Pulp and Paper Association and it is assumed the association arranged to have Moore speak at that event. Why did MP&P waited until Oct. 19 to publish Moore’s speech? Swartz recounts how Moore for 15 years was an environmental activist, but that he had a change of heart in the mid-1980s and began working “with” the large corporate extractors. He changed from an activist to a scientist. You make more money that way. Moore’s speech, as recounted by Swartz, was a tirade against what he called “radical environmentalists.” Moore said environmentalists “…sought to implement policy by confrontation…” and not by consensus. By this he means, consensus with the extractor or the polluter, not at the polls.
He says, “They [radical environmentalists] ushered in an era of zero tolerance and left-wing policies in the environmental movement. … Environmental extremists are easily characterized. They are basically anti-human. Humans are characterized as a cancer on the Earth.”
Does this sound like Hitler to you? Does this sound like it might be a violation of hate crime laws?
Is Moore suggesting that Jonathan Carter and those who have worked with him are “radical environmentalists”? It would be interesting to ask Moore what persons or groups in this state he believes are “radical environmentalists.” And if he cannot put his finger on anyone or group, why did he come to this state and made such a wild speech in the first place? If I were a member of the Maine Pulp and Paper Association, I would demand we get our money back. Paul Hanson Argyle
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