April 20, 2006: commissioned and published linoleum cut illustration by the New York Times, Op-Ed. on Earth Day, ” Not Out of The Wood Just Yet ” by Don Melnick and Mary Pearl.
” The people most vulnerable to the disappearance of forests are the poor: nearly three-quarters of the 1.2 billion people defined as extremely poor live in rural areas, where they rely most directly on forests for food, fuel, fiber and building materials. But those of us in the developed world are hardly immune. Smaller forests mean fewer predators keeping insects and rodents in check in the Northeastern United States, a phenomenon linked to the spread of Lyme disease and West Nile virus, among others.
Everywhere, forests prevent erosion, filter and regulate the flow of fresh water, protect coral reefs and fisheries and harbor animals that pollinate, control pests and buffer disease. That is why the single most important action we can take to protect lives and livelihoods worldwide is to protect forests. And one of the best ways to do that is to change how we think about their economics. Sustainable forests, in turn, can form the basis for the health and economic well-being of the poorest among us, while benefiting everyone else as well. What could be a more satisfying vision for Earth Day 2006? ”
Don Melnick is a professor of conservation biology at Columbia University. Mary Pearl is president of Wildlife Trust. [ “Presently Mary Pearl, an internationally known and respected conservationist, is Dean and Vice President of Stony Brook Southampton. For the previous 15 years, she was President of Wildlife Trust.”]
With all my gratitude to Op-Ed Art Director Brian Rea for commissioning me this assignment.
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Note: “Not Out of the Woods Yet” linoleum cut, 2nd publication: Le Courrier International [magazine: 992), November 2009, Paris. Titled “Alerte au trafic d’ebene et de palissandre”
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Dessin . drawing . original linoleum cut and woodcut . linogravure originale et gravures sur bois . linóleo grabado original . incisione originale . xilografie. Copyright © Raymond Verdaguer 2008
