Officials pluck tree-sitters from their perch

...for a tree???

Didn't get you way? Why not throw a temper tantrum!
Scream, sit down, pout, cry, and scream some more until you finally get your way!
After all, it works for 2-year olds most every day. Damn hippie terrorists.

dammed cor-pirationists!

I love trees!

They make great places to hold my deerstand whilst I shoot bambi's mom and dad.

How dare those people try to make a difference and stand up for something. They should just roll over and take it like the rest of us.

Yep. Hugging a tree makes alot of good things happen. Wow. The world is now a better place. Superb.

Bambi burgers for everyone!!!

sundoec you are so right. Personally, I love breathing.

As much as I admire personal stands, Doggonit, I don't feel that this action was appropriate - both the motivation and the timing were wrong. First, this was entirely for publicity, and what the protestors demanded wasn't to save the tree. They wanted $20 million for their various causes.

A far better example would be in the UK, where six protestors got into the E!ON coal plant (UK's largest) and got up to the smokestack. They did it because they wanted to shut the plant down because it contributed to global warming. Police had to arrest them and take them away.

You know what? A jury of their peers found them INNOCENT!

Not the rest of the world is as blind as you sundoc!

Should have taken a chainsaw to the tree the day after they climbed up there. Eliminate some carbon footprint in one fell swoop.

If they believed so fervently in their cause, why didn't they raise the funds to buy the property from the university, legally?

Actually, I think the demand was for $6 million to go to environmental and Native American groups. However, this demand seemed to be a last ditch effort after a court had made its finally ruling about a month ago. For the most part of the 21 month protest they were pretty much focused. I don't know what happened at the end there or why.

http://www.mercur..._emailed

http://www.sacbee...408.html

scottm wrote:

"Should have taken a chainsaw to the tree the day after they climbed up there. Eliminate some carbon footprint in one fell swoop."

Oh yea! Great idea! You obviously forgot about Kent State.

scottm wrote:

"If they believed so fervently in their cause, why didn't they raise the funds to buy the property from the university, legally?"

Good idea. But, I don't think the University was interested in selling. Their options were very limited as to where they could place the sports complex. I think the problem was they sought very little input from the community and tried to shove the project down their throats in which they ultimately did. It is unfortunate because they probably could have designed something that could have incorporated at least some of the trees had they started with that in mind. Too late now.

Some Reasons Why Trees Are Valuable & Important:

Trees Produce Oxygen, Clean the Soil, Help Control Noise Pollution, Slow Storm Water Runoff, Are Carbon Sinks, Clean the Air, Shade and Cool, Act as Windbreaks, Fight Soil Erosion, Increase Property Values... just to name a few. The people at UC were making a point, not throwing "temper tantrums" or being overzealous tree-hugging "hippie terrorists"... they are doing it for EVERYONE who lives on this planet and for those who will HOPEFULLY be here long after all of us are dead and gone... but, maybe sundoc and drel should go hunting with VP Cheney if they like deer meat so much.

The UCB should have arrested them 21 months ago and sent them off to jail. Then cut the tree down. As far as the community is concerned, why should UCB care? It isn't the community's land.

These ding dongs have cost taxpayers a fortune and now we have to read about it in PhysOrg? Shouldn't this website be about science, not hippies throwing temper tantrums? And why cater to all this. Surround the trees and stop all food and water and this could have been resolved in a couple of days without endangering the lives of the cops who had to remove them from their smelly perches.

GrayMouser wrote:

"The UCB should have arrested them 21 months ago and sent them off to jail. Then cut the tree down. As far as the community is concerned, why should UCB care? It isn't the community's land."

Berkeley gets millions of tax dollars ever year not to mention infrastructure support from the surrounding community. Berkeley is also a public institution so the land does belong to the community at large. Additionally, no organization or individual exist by themselves without the support of those around them. Berkeley should have sought more community input before the project started. And because of the protests I bet next time they will.