Who could have predicted this: the tactic of defending trees with human bodies is spreading to the corporate world. From Orlando, of all places, comes the story of what looks like at least a dozen resort employees actually getting paid to place themselves in the path of 'construction'. Check out the video!!! We're talking a few oaks, 25 years old, on resort property, planned to be to cut to make even more space for power lines. The oaks were defended by random employees yesterday, but the gates will supposedly be locked and guarded by rent-a-cops (company security) tomorrow.
But this is different that your usual forest defense story. Westgate resorts and it's parent company CFI bill themselves as the "largest privately-held timeshare company in the world employing over 10,000 around the United States". Progress Energy is a monster in its own right, "with more than 21,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues". This is essentially a random skirmish between two behemoths of industry with, it appears, little to no effect on either one's profitability.
The narrative presented by the local media is one of a friendly dispute between law-abiding corporate citizens, with limited media sympathy given to both spokesmen and to the workers (who had boxed lunches delivered to them under the shade of the oaks) on both sides. Compare and contrast to local media's coverage of Everglades Earth First!, which portrayed a bunch of dirty hippies hogtied and hauled away by sheriffs, and essentially endorsed the whole process.
I'm all for saving trees in any way possible. It might be cool though, if those of us who defend old-growth redwoods could receive some financial compensation, or at the very least some catered boxed lunches.
Media coverage:
MSNBC
WDBO
News 13
Orlando Sentinel
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