**Satire**
Let’s Log Our Way to Sustainability
By Thomas P. Hunterson, Senior Fellow, Canadian Institute for Responsible Resource Extraction
It’s time we have an honest conversation about trees. For centuries, British Columbia’s old-growth forests have stood there, smugly absorbing carbon, housing wildlife, and looking majestic. Meanwhile, hardworking British Columbians are struggling to afford the price of sustainably branded patio furniture. The imbalance is, frankly, untenable.
Critics claim these ancient ecosystems are “irreplaceable.” But in a country that invented both the snowmobile and the butter tart, “irreplaceable” sounds a lot like “underexploited.” Each 800-year-old cedar we fell isn’t a loss, it’s a job creation strategy.
There’s a natural partnership between chainsaws and our consciences. Opponents of logging like to paint it as an act of ecological barbarism. But let’s remember: for every tree felled, another one eventually grows back. That’s not destruction, that’s just a time-efficient forest management plan, extended over several centuries.
Industry experts agree. “Old-growth trees have had good innings,” says Brad Timberman, Vice President of Sustainable Harvest Solutions Inc. “If anything, cutting them down is a form of respectful retirement.”
And the climate benefits are profound. Old-growth trees sequester carbon, yes, but felled trees stimulate the economy, which funds green innovation, like carbon offsets and branded tote bags. In the big picture, that’s a net win for everyone with a portfolio.
Tourists come from around the world to experience B.C.’s natural beauty. But how can they truly appreciate our landscape if it’s obscured by so many trees? Logging opens up breathtaking new vistas of that rugged “post-industrial chic” aesthetic beloved by influencers and documentary filmmakers alike. As one industry white paper put it: “Every clearcut tells a story.”
Some worry that future generations will never know the grandeur of the old-growth forest. With today’s technology, they’ll be able to experience it through immersive VR headsets, drone footage, and museum gift-shop calendars, all sustainably printed on 100% post-old-growth paper. Stewardship doesn’t mean keeping the forest; it means using it responsibly, one harvest at a time.
So let’s stand tall, like the trees we’re about to remove, and celebrate B.C.’s proud logging tradition. Because in the end, what could be more Canadian than transforming our natural heritage into export-grade two-by-fours, and calling it sustainability?
