butterfly's treesit

Read the radio host’s questions and imagine a possible answer. Then listen and take notes (click here to listen). (see page bottom for transcript)

4. "Luna's on private property, (it) belongs to Pacific Lumber so... you were trespassing, violating the law."

5. "You actually had contact and communication with John Cambell, president of Pacific Lumber. Tell us about that."

Civil Disobedience

Civil Disobedience: Dr. Martin Luther King (listen to King at http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/)

University Life: King studied Sociology at college and began to feel that America’s economic system discriminated against blacks. He read the American writer Thoreau, and became excited by the idea that one honest man could change the world.

Gun Incident: One day a racist student at his college threatened to kill King with a gun. King calmly spoke with the man. Many classmates were angry, but King forgave the man. Eventually the man apologized and he and King became friends. This was an important event in learning how to change an enemy into a friend.

Gandhi Influence: Gandhi showed King that it was possible to turn anger into a positive force. Gandhi's success in India motivated King: Love could change the world. King also learned from Gandhi the power of non-violence. Injustice could be fought through civil disobedience.

Civil Disobedience: In America’s south in 1955, some white drivers treated blacks badly. Blacks could not sit in the first four rows; Blacks had to always give up their seats to whites. If the black section of the bus was full, but the white section was empty--the blacks still had to stand. This was the law. In December 1955, Mrs. Rosa Parks, sat while the bus filled up. As more white's boarded, Mrs. Parks was told to stand. She was tired and refused. The driver threatened to call the police. "Go ahead and call," she replied. She was put in jail. King organized: blacks began a boycott of city busses. This act of civil disobedience was very effective, as were King’s inpiring speeches.

Reading and Retelling Workshops

(1) Read the article below. (2) Match the bold word with the definition. (3) Summarize the article to a friend on an md or cassette.

Civil Disobedience: Mahatma Gandhi (listen to Gandhi at http://www.gandhiinstitute.org/hear_gandhiji_.html)

University Life: While attending law school in England Gandhi began to read the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu bible. The Gita had a big influence on Gandhi. Gandhi saw the Gita as a struggle which continually goes on within a person's heart. He agreed with the Gita's message that humans must take some action to fight injustice.

Train Incident: Shortly after becoming a lawyer, Gandhi went to South Africa. He bought a first-class ticket for a train, but was told that all Indians rode in third class seats. When Gandhi refused to change his seat, a policeman threw him off the train. All night he was cold and afraid. Should he return to India? He decided to fight discrimination. This incident affected him strongly for the rest of his life.

Nonviolence: The Hindi word Satyagraha, is a combination of satya (truth-love) and agraha (firmness/force). Satyagraha is peaceful: people must be changed by a demonstration of purity, humility, and honesty. We should try to change the thinking of prejudiced or racist people -- not hurt them. Violence and anger against injustice is not wise. It creates bitterness in the victim, and doesn’t solve the problem.

Salt Protests: It was illegal for Indians to buy salt from anyone except the British government. Gandhi and about 75 followers marched to the sea, about 250 miles in 24 days. They were welcomed in villages and Gandhi talked to the crowds. When they reached the sea Gandhi picked up some of the salt that had dried, breaking the law. Within a month 60,000 Indians were in prison. Gandhi was also arrested. Later, when thousands of Indians approached the sea, police beat them. No Indians fought back. The British government was greatly embarrassed

a) Julia Butterfly broke the law to protect the redwoods (the forest property was owned by the logging company). Do you agree with her actions? What alternative ways of protecting the redwoods are there? What alternative forms of protest are there? Can the logging company make this criticism considering they broke logging laws over 200 times in a two year period?

b) Which of the following would it be worthwhile to engage in civil disobedience? Explain.

* Nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific Ocean (Read more)
* Is dolphin hunting cruel or acceptable? <Read more>
* The federal execution of a mentally ill killer
* Discrimination against blacks; forcing them to give up their bus seats to whites
* Afghan minorities who are forced to wear a patch to show they are not Moslem

Give yourself 10 points for the most environmental answer, 0 for the least. Add your answers and check the bottom for interpretation.

1. Walk or bicycle whenever possible?

2. Always turn off lights, stereos, etc., when done?

3. Use lots of water for bath or shower every day?

4. Always recycle?

5. Put on more clothing in winter, or turn up the heat?

6. Use lots of air conditioning in summer?

7. Use disposable plates, cups and chopsticks?

8. Compost waste food?

9. Only buy what you need?

10. Refuse plastic bags and bring your own instead?

70 - 100 points: Congratulations! You have a sustainable lifestyle! Your children's children will appreciate you.
50 - 70 points: You are making an effort, but more work remains to be done.
35 - 50 points: You can do better. Think about you habits and ways you might improve them.
0 - 35 points: Yikes! You are a child of the modern world. It's never too late to change bad habits, however...

Listening Workshop: Second Listening: 1. T, 2. T, 3. F, 4. F, 5. F, 6. F, 7. F

Butterfly: Live on the Radio! transcript
Host: Welcome Julia
Butterfly: Thank you Michael. It's great to be here.
Host: Tell me, when did you first get the idea to climb Luna and go up in that tree?
B: The idea was presented to me in November of '97.

Host: So you climbed Luna, and you were up there. Now the first couple of weeks were not very easy. Tell us about what it was like when you first went up Luna and you were there the first few weeks.

B: When I climbed that tree December 10, 1997, I was prepared to stay three weeks to a month. But I wasnÕt really prepared, I had never lived in a tree before. I didn't know that I was climbing up in the worst winter of recorded history of California--that famous el nino of '97.

Host: Luna's actually on private property, belongs to Pacific Lumber. So one of the things was that you were trespassing. You were violating the law.

B: As you well know and I'm sure most of your listeners know, civil disobedience is based on much higher laws being violated. Pacific Lumber violated the law over 300 times in three years and usually got slapped on the wrist in the form of fines. I thought it was very funny that they tried to focus on the fact that I was a trespasser when I have no criminal record and they have a huge criminal record.

Host: You had actually contact and communication with the president of Pacific Lumber, John Cambell. Tell us about that.

B: I got a little bag with a real thin string. And I put in that bag the last crystal that I had from the Ozarks. I was just trying to think, what can I give this man to try to touch something in him that he doesn't normally think about. So I get down to the branch where I felt comfortable where he could see me where I could see him but I was not anywhere near the ground and he holds up a six pack of Pepsi in his hands and he said, "I brought you a present." And I started giggling and I pulled out my crystal and I said, "I brought you one too." And he said, "Well I hope you don't mind, you took so long I drank one of your pepsi's." (laughter)