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Sep 10, 2001

"Live as you will wish to have lived when you are dying." --Christian Furchtegott Gellert

Canada - When the Texada Land Corp. started logging old-growth Douglas fir and Garry oak on Saltspring Island in November 1999, field naturalist Briony Penn and others protested that the logging was "denuding" the land and disrupting endangered ecosystems. "Ten percent of our island is being clearcut as we speak," Penn declared. No one listened. That changed last January when Penn showed up in downtown Vancouver leading a "Lady Godiva" protest. Joined by five other bare-breasted women, Penn circled Texada's headquarters building. "We've tried everything to raise awareness about endangered ecosystems, but they won't listen to the scientists and they won't listen to the people," Penn told the press. "I've got a Ph.D. and no one listens. I take my clothes off, and here you all are." Penn reminded the press that Lady Godiva rode through the streets of Coventry, England "to protest the greed and taxation that was ruining her community," and noted that "in the new millennium, greed is once again destroying communities."
-From "Calling Their Buff" (Earth Island Journal)