I am a Tree Hugger

[Pharaoh]

Yes, I am a Tree Hugger. I'm an Environmentalist. I'm an Earth Lover. I am a friend of those who fly in the sky, a friend of those who swim in the ocean, rivers, lakes, and seas; a friend: of those who howl at the moon, of those who run through the forests, of those who climb in the trees. I love the sun shining on my face. I love dancing in the rain. I love catching snowflakes on my tongue. I love hearing the birds singing in the morning. I love seeing animal friends gaze up at me with pure love and devotion. I love walking on a pristine beach under the light of a full moon. I love mountain tops, and beaches, and valleys covered in wild flowers. I love chasing butterflies, fireflies, and rainbows. I love lying on the grass at night, looking up at the stars and wondering who is out there.

Call me Weird. It's in my blood. I can't help the way I am. I hurt when Mother Earth hurts. I grieve when she grieves. I cry when she cries. I hate that which pollutes and defiles her. I hate oil spills. I hate the senseless slaughter of dolphins and whales. I hate it when wolves are shot from helicopters in the name of sport. I hate it when horses are sent to slaughter houses. I hate it when people bury their heads in the sand and pretend that they just don't see the destruction mankind is causing our earth in the name of corporate greed.

Call me an Alarmist. Call me a Sensationalist. Call me a Radical. It's alright. Cause I'm one of those people. I am your worse nightmare. Tell me I'm blowing things out of proportion while the oceans bleed, while the sky cries acid tears, and the earth trembles in anger. Call me what you will. I will still be here yelling in your ear! And why do I do this? Because I care! I care about this planet because, unlike you, I believe it was loaned to me with a sacred trust to take care of it. You on the other hand believe you own it to abuse it how ever you choose. But as a wise man once said, "... the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."

I believe the earth is our children's inheritance. I believe my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren will either bless me or curse me for what I do to protect this precious gift of Mother Earth for them. When it is all said and done. When I'm laid in the grave and forgotten. Let history say I was one of those who cared. Let history say I was one of those who gave a damn, one of those who tried to make a difference. Let history say ... I was a Tree Hugger.

- By Astralwings (Dedicated to Tree Huggers everywhere)

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=108649902493641

[BeatleBoot]

1. Better a Tree Hugger than a Tea Bagger

:)

Any day of the week!

[Jeffersons Ghost]

2. K&R and apparently you're a free-mason too

[Pharaoh]

3. No

Not a Mason, just like the symbol :party:

[Jeffersons Ghost]

10. how about a "free-thinker?" nice OP

[inna]

24. What is the meaning of the symbol? Why do you like it?

[Pharaoh]

26. I don't Know

O8)

[zeemike]

4. Nice rant....Me too.

And this is the key to our survival on this earth.

[elocs]

5. I once heard a climate change denier guest on my local NPR station

who was as far from a tree hugger as you can get. Not only did he deny climate change, but even concerning its potential consequences and why we should be good stewards of this Earth, his answer was, "So what?" Basically he believed that we don't owe anything to future generations to help to save the planet, that its their problem with which to deal. We should feel free to plunder the Earth as we chose for our own benefit.

Incredible, but I think that kind of thinking underlies much of what very many Republicans truly believe, that You're On Your Own, that you're responsible for nobody but yourself and your family, and that as long as you get yours that's all that matters.

[pipi_k]

7. It would not be prudent

for me to state exactly what I would like to say, and do, to someone like that.

[elocs]

9. He was the first that I've heard honestly express the way they feel about climate change

and our obligation to future generations, but I know he is not alone in his thinking.

[Duval]

44. Yep. Ayn Rand's Democracy without a Soul.n/t

[pipi_k]

6. I'm a tree hugger too

I LOVE trees. Which is cool because I live in the middle of lots of them.

Last night I stood out on my front porch for a while and listened to the peepers chirping out by my pond. I smelled the aroma of my Spicebush and the damp evening soil, felt the gentle breeze in my face.


I get so angry with people who think nothing of destroying the gifts we've been given by being placed here on this beautiful planet.

[Mojeoux]

16. ME too. I live in Redwood country.

They are awesome giants!

[pipi_k]

40. I've always wanted to see those...

there are some pretty large trees in my area (a couple of hundred years old) that pique my imagination about what they've been through and who's seen them...can't even begin to comprehend the magnificence of the Redwood giants!


:)

[Phentex]

42. I used to be until four fell on my house!...

My son almost died and the damage was hell. Now I can't even go camping without fear. It's irrational and I need therapy but I suffer when we have storms and I see the trees sway.

I hate myself for wanting them down, but I can't live this way.

[BeFree]

8. The truly Radical...

...are those who would unweave the web of our lives for a few pieces of gold.

It is radical to pollute the waters. It is insanity. We live amongst insane people.

[Uncle Joe]

11. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Pharaoh.:thumbsup:

[livetohike]

12. Me too. Thank you for posting this

:hug:

[underseasurveyor]

13. That would also describe me

the only thing I would add to all that is.. To all those animal loving, tree hugging environmentalist wackos that have gone before us, to those of us that are here now, and to those that will join us in the future........... THANK YOU:loveya:

[earth mom]

14. Love it! I'm a tree hugger and proud of it! Thanks for sharing!

:hi:

[onestepforward]

15. Thanks for your post.

I'm a treehugger too and want to protect our beautiful planet. It is our only home.

[Lorien]

17. Treehugger here too

Our environment is one of the most important-if not THE most important-issue facing us today. If you can't maintain health, eat, breathe, and preserve the biodiversity that has allowed us to live how much will any other "top issues" matter?

[bobbolink]

18. I'm partial to Ponderosas. They smell like vanilla when you hug them.

Except for the rare few that smell like butterscotch.

[Old Troop]

19. Do you ask permission first?

[Duval]

20. Hello, Pharaoh. Thank

you for posting Astralwings dedication. How great is it, when you can read something that echos in your own heart. I feel comforted in knowing I am not alone. And thanks to everyone for DU.:toast: :grouphug: <3

[Irishonly]

21. Great Post

Would k&r a million times if I could. I have a soft spot for California Hummingbirds. We have been feeding them for over ten years. There's just something about them that even after a crappy day I will feel better after about ten minutes on the porch.

[gimama]

22. thank You for this!

(((hug!)))

[shedevil69taz]

23. Wild animals

don't gaze up at humans with love and devotion, they gaze with either pure fear, or hatred, or in some cases (not many though) trying to decide if they could eat you without you putting up too much of a fight. Not sayin that's an excuse to destroy where they live or anything.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

25. life in a consumer society, plus unwillingness to reduce birthrate

it's not just corporatism, but ALSO overpopulation.

I'm a tree hugger too, and I believe that as we destroy beauty in favor of sprawl and cheap, ugly construction, and more more more stuff and babies, we destroy our ability to appreciate life.

[azul]

27. I have dreamed that I was a plant once.

Most peculiar.

Life wakes up through beings like humans to see its own beautiful wonder. Hugging trees is loving creation.

[Phentex]

43. Nicely put.

I like that.

[Odin2005]

28. ME TOO!

[AnArmyVeteran]

29. Beautiful ! I'm a tree hugger too...

[AnArmyVeteran]

30. The poor shall inherit the earth, the only thing of real value.

The poor shall inherit the earth, the only thing of true value. But the rich worship business, buildings and factories. We value worth, they value riches, we understand use, they understand abuse...

[Duval]

47. AAV, I really like your post. Thank you for it! n/t

[AnArmyVeteran]

48. Thanks Duval. I've only been on DU a short time, a couple of months, but welcome!!!

[flvegan]

31. This post...part of why I'm vegan.

[AllenVanAllen]

32. I understand the importance of all living things

and I am a tree hugger. Humans owe our success as a species to the smaller forms of life and I believe we have a responsibility to them and ourselves to preserve as much of our natural world as possible.

This quote sums up my philosophy: "The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit". ~Nelson Henderson

[mvd]

33. Thank you for your post

It shouldn't be considered "radical" to want to protect the world's natural beauty and to come up with innovative solutions for our energy needs.

[ClayZ]

34. Another tree hugger here~

K and R

[Maru Kitteh]

35. In my Facebook profile under "Political Views" I put TREE HUGGER.

Might as well be up front about it. :)

[tango-tee]

36. Beautiful OP! Thank you!

And especially, I loved the first paragraph. That's me.

Again - thank you!

[Enthusiast]

37. Tree huggers unite!

I'm one too.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

38. This area has been devastated by developers and their elected enablers.

The Executive Director of the local Chamber of Commerce recently was put in charge of the Coalition on Environmental Sustainability for the Chamber. A recent LTTE showed the true hypocrisy of the Chamber by pointing out some of the remarks made by Joe Hurd the Executive Director.

From the Altoona Mirror LTTE:

In a recent column of Chamber Notes in the Blair Business Mirror, Blair County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Joe Hurd expressed his dissatisfaction with The Nature Conservancy for purchasing nearly 700 acres on Brush Mountain to preserve this land for wildlife and outdoor recreation.

"It's the resource preservation thing that doesn't sit well with me," wrote Hurd. He complained that The Nature Conservancy is taking "matters of conservation to the extreme" by purchasing this land from a willing seller and then leaving the land in its natural state instead of developing it.

The Nature Conservancy's Brush Mountain Preserve is located upslope of the Logan Town Centre and behind Sylvan East. It is not posted and is open to hunters, hikers and other nature enthusiasts.

Hurd wrote, "I've never been mistaken for an outdoors guy," and "I'm not likely to get all emotional about the splendor of the great outdoors."

Yeah.... this ***hole really cares about Environmental Sustainability! :grr:

Rest of LTTE:
http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/529077.html?nav=737

Link to The Nature Conservancy and the land that the Chamber thinks would make a better playground for the developers.
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/pennsylvania/preserves/art26881.html

[depakid]

39. A tree or two- perhaps a forest or two from the ends of the earth that you might like

A Karri:



A Tingle:





King Jarrah:



Responsible forest management practices with an eye toward conservation are in everybody's interests.

[pipi_k]

41. I like the Tingle...

It makes me think of Leprechauns and Faery-Folk in the forest.... :)

[life long demo]

45. WONDERFUL, THE CARE YOU FEEL FLOWS FROM THE WORDS

Thank you for reminding why I (we all) care so much.

[WillyT]

46. You Might Enjoy This...

:hi:

:kick:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

49. spirit echo......