Top-Ten Lies Told by Patrick Moore

LIE #1: I am an environmentalist and represent an independent scientific perspective on forest issues
TRUTH: Moore is paid by the British Columbia Forest Alliance: an industry-front group set up by public relations firm Burson-Marsteller (the same PR firm that represented Exxon after the Valdez oil spill and Union Carbide after the Bhopal chemical disaster). The BC Forest Alliance is funded primarily by the logging industry.

LIE #2: Large openings like clearcuts are natural
TRUTH: Large openings do occur naturally in some forest ecosystems, but not with any frequency in coastal temperate rainforest -- something that Dr. Moore does not notice. Furthermore, clearcuts remove a considerable amount of the biomass, whereas natural openings caused by wind leave all the bio-mass on site and openings caused by fire leave 70% to 20% of the biomass on site.

LIE #3:"Not one species has gone extinct as a result of logging"
TRUTH: In the eastern forests of the US the following four bird species have gone extinct and logging of old growth forests is cited as a primary factor: Campehilus principalis, Vermivora bachmanni, Conuropsis carolinensis, Ectopistes migratorius. Furthermore there are localized population extinctions. 142 distinct runs of salmon in BC and the Yukon have gone extinct and logging again is cited as a major factor.

LIE #4: Logging causes reforestation, not deforestation
TRUTH: Webster's Dictionary defines deforestation as "the action or process of clearing of forests". The argument advanced by forest industry spin doctors that clearcutting "causes reforestation, not deforestation" is ludicrous. It is like arguing that having a heart attack improves your health because of the medical treatment you receive afterwards.

LIE #5:"Clearcuts are temporary meadows"
TRUTH: A meadow is a level expanse of water-logged soil that floods in wet periods and supports a rich growth of moisture-loving plants. The conditions are so ideal for these plants that trees are crowded out. Clearcuts frequently dry out due to exposure to wind and sun and unlike meadows, clearcuts are often on steep slopes and can erode into gullies.

LIE #6: After being clearcut, the forest will renew itself
TRUTH: It would, given at least 1500 years; but the unstated intention is to cut the trees down again after about 100 years. An even-aged plantation must take several multiples of the life span of a single tree to become a true forest.

LIE #7: Second-growth forests are the same as old-growth forests
TRUTH: When old-growth forests are chopped down they are replaced with tree farms. Old-growth forests are complex, supporting a diverse composition of plant and animal life, with multi-aged trees. Tree farms are single aged, simplified ecosystems, can not absorb carbon as old growth trees do, and have far less capacity to serve as a water filtration system. Because of simplification, tree farms are more susceptible to diseases, pests, fires, and the impacts of climate change.

LIE #8: Clearing land for fuel and agriculture causes deforestation, but logging does not.
TRUTH: Most deforestation in temperate and boreal forests is due to industrial logging. The World Resources Institute has identified logging as the predominant threat to the future of the world's frontier forests.

LIE #9: Moore describes a forest as a factory.
TRUTH: We can build factories but we cannot build old-growth forests. Forests are so complex that we have yet to identify or name a large percentage of forest species (perhaps even the majority in tropical forests), let alone grasp the complex interactions of forest ecosystems. The connections and interactions in one cubic meter of rainforest soil is greater than even the most advanced computer.

LIE # 10: "I am a co-founder of Greenpeace"
TRUTH: There is speculation as to whether Patick Moore was a co-founder of Greenpeace. Yes, Mr. Moore was a former director of Greenpeace; Judas was also one of the twelve Disciples.

Environmentalists seek to save remaining old-growth forests, while Patrick Moore's employers seek to cut these forests down. Environmentalists see the forest, while Patrick Moore's employers see only the trees. On one side are wisdom, humility and generosity, while on the other side is money. People should take these facts into consideration when deciding whom to believe in the debate over the future of the world's forests.

	LIE #1: I am an environmentalist and represent an independent scientific perspective on forest issues TRUTH: Moore is paid by the British Columbia Forest Alliance: an industry-front group set up by public relations firm Burson-Marsteller (the same PR firm that represented Exxon after the Valdez oil spill and Union Carbide after the Bhopal chemical disaster). The BC Forest Alliance is funded primarily by the logging industry.

	LIE #2: Large openings like clearcuts are natural TRUTH: Large openings do occur naturally in some forest ecosystems, but not with any frequency in coastal temperate rainforest -- something that Dr. Moore does not notice. Furthermore, clearcuts remove a considerable amount of the biomass, whereas natural openings caused by wind leave all the bio-mass on site and openings caused by fire leave 70% to 20% of the biomass on site.

	LIE #3:"Not one species has gone extinct as a result of logging" TRUTH: In the eastern forests of the US the following four bird species have gone extinct and logging of old growth forests is cited as a primary factor: Campehilus principalis, Vermivora bachmanni, Conuropsis carolinensis, Ectopistes migratorius. Furthermore there are localized population extinctions. 142 distinct runs of salmon in BC and the Yukon have gone extinct and logging again is cited as a major factor.

	LIE #4: Logging causes reforestation, not deforestation TRUTH: Webster's Dictionary defines deforestation as "the action or process of clearing of forests". The argument advanced by forest industry spin doctors that clearcutting "causes reforestation, not deforestation" is ludicrous. It is like arguing that having a heart attack improves your health because of the medical treatment you receive afterwards.

	LIE #5:"Clearcuts are temporary meadows" TRUTH: A meadow is a level expanse of water-logged soil that floods in wet periods and supports a rich growth of moisture-loving plants. The conditions are so ideal for these plants that trees are crowded out. Clearcuts frequently dry out due to exposure to wind and sun and unlike meadows, clearcuts are often on steep slopes and can erode into gullies.

	LIE #6: After being clearcut, the forest will renew itself TRUTH: It would, given at least 1500 years; but the unstated intention is to cut the trees down again after about 100 years. An even-aged plantation must take several multiples of the life span of a single tree to become a true forest.

	LIE #7: Second-growth forests are the same as old-growth forests TRUTH: When old-growth forests are chopped down they are replaced with tree farms. Old-growth forests are complex, supporting a diverse composition of plant and animal life, with multi-aged trees. Tree farms are single aged, simplified ecosystems, can not absorb carbon as old growth trees do, and have far less capacity to serve as a water filtration system. Because of simplification, tree farms are more susceptible to diseases, pests, fires, and the impacts of climate change.

	LIE #8: Clearing land for fuel and agriculture causes deforestation, but logging does not. TRUTH: Most deforestation in temperate and boreal forests is due to industrial logging. The World Resources Institute has identified logging as the predominant threat to the future of the world's frontier forests.

	LIE #9: Moore describes a forest as a factory. TRUTH: We can build factories but we cannot build old-growth forests. Forests are so complex that we have yet to identify or name a large percentage of forest species (perhaps even the majority in tropical forests), let alone grasp the complex interactions of forest ecosystems. The connections and interactions in one cubic meter of rainforest soil is greater than even the most advanced computer.

	LIE # 10: "I am a co-founder of Greenpeace" TRUTH: There is speculation as to whether Patick Moore was a co-founder of Greenpeace. Yes, Mr. Moore was a former director of Greenpeace; Judas was also one of the twelve Disciples.