'Healthy Forests' Or 'Smoke Screen?'

Is President Bush's 'Healthy Forests' intiative a sound environmental strategy or a 'smoke screen' for the logging industry? A national expert comments.

1 minute read

August 18, 2003, 6:00 AM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech

"Wildfires have been getting worse over the years. In response, the government now plans drastic tree-thinning under its Healthy Forests Initiative. Skeptics call it a pretext for logging, one that flies in the face of our forests' overarching value as places to visit and appreciate...Citing cost efficiency, the Bush administration will invite loggers to do the thinning and let them cut what they need for profit. Critics say they'll take the best, biggest trees.To sort it out, I consulted the nation's best-known fire historian..."

Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan

FULL STORY: Is U.S. Wildfire Policy a Smoke Screen?

Saturday, August 16, 2003 in National Geographic

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