Last week, we explored the face-value premise of the book and movie, “The Lorax” — that natural resources can be exploited and that companies hire their own “Loraxes” to ensure that their businesses are sustainable. I also discussed how government regulations, scientific understanding of ecosystems, and sustainable forestry certification systems are now in place to ensure that natural resources are not overused — systems that were not present in the Lorax’s world.

There is still another threat to natural resources that is more subtly presented and less intuitive in “The Lorax,” though. That threat is one that we all tend to ignore and prefer not to talk about. The cliché, “We have met the enemy and he is us!” comes to mind.

In the movie, there is a scene where a horde of people descends upon the young “Onceler” (businessman) and demands his product, the “Thneed” that everyone needs! THIS is the threat to natural resources that we have to worry about, and one that is not monitored by any Lorax. Let me explain.

This country was founded on a concept of abundant natural resources that stretched on, seemingly forever. In effect, our policies and systems were designed in an atmosphere of unlimited space. Hundreds of years later, populations have expanded and space is far from unlimited, yet our concept of open space, our economic success and our selfishness continues to drive public policy more toward sprawl and less toward density.

Forest acres have increased in North America each year since about 1920, yet the majority of our forest products are now imported. This growth of forestland was fueled by improvements in agricultural technology, allowing greater crop volumes to be produced on fewer acres. Thus, unused agricultural acres slowly were reclaimed by forest. In this decade, we will see that trend reverse and forest acres will begin to decline. The decline will be fueled by development coupled with the fact that we no longer have agricultural acres reverting to forest to offset the development growth. In fact, food crop acres will start to increase and forest acres will decline.

We all want our spacious homestead lots and our large houses. The popular American aspiration is to have a house in the suburbs where there is space between you and your neighbors. This aspiration in reflected in our zoning laws, which encourage larger house lots the farther you get from an inner city. It is also reflected in our property tax policies, which assume that every private forest is available for development and should be taxed based on the potential development value, not the value of the forest. There are other policies too numerous to mention that also encourage forest parcelization and development.

You may say that our government will regulate to save the forest, but in our system of democracy we are the government, and public policies reflect our aspirations as a society. This will not change, as “The Lorax” states, UNLESS we care a whole awful lot. “Things will not get better (in terms of conserving forest land), they will not.”

We, like many species in the forest ecosystem, are very adaptable and the future is certainly not yet written. I see things getting better with the advent of more fuel-efficient cars and more condo-type housing units being built closer to cities and using less open space. To continue these positive trends, we all need to acknowledge our societal impact upon natural resources and stop looking to blame others (factories have been a common target for decades, as has government). If we want things to get better, we have to adjust our aspirations to ensure a more secure future.

When my sons were young, my wife and I would read “The Lorax” to them often. So often, that they memorized the words and if we stopped reading in mid-sentence, they would continue on without us. That was more than 30 years ago, so on a recent night Ellen and I headed out to the local cinema to see how well “The Lorax” and its messages translated into a movie. We were pleased by what we saw.

What messages, you may ask? Well, the first is the most obvious: that any forest ecosystem must be carefully managed because there are natural limitations that limit what can be removed sustainably. The second message is more subtle, and will be reviewed in next week’s post.

So why would a forester and his wife, whose economic well-being depends on the harvest of trees, read “The Lorax” to their children so frequently? The answer, I thought at the time, was to get that most obvious point across to them — the point that all natural resources are limited. In retrospect, though, perhaps I was reading the book more for myself than for them­ — to constantly remind myself that in addition to growing trees sustainably, my job involved telling my employer when the resource was being managed at its limit, and that production could no longer be increased. The ethical requirement for a natural resource manager is clear and indisputable. Even if an employer doesn’t want to hear it, the resource manager must inform the business when the resource is at the limit of sustainable use. This is the line that, if crossed by an employer, should prompt any professional natural resource/forest manager to resign.

Let’s stress one more fact here: most, if not all, employers expect their natural resource managers to say when limits are reached; it is the main reason that resource managers are hired in the first place.

Forest industries have operated for many years now and, I am pleased to report, that biological limit has not been reached, at least in the northeastern forests where I work. What’s more, this limit is unlikely to be reached because: 1) the use of certified sustainable resource management programs are more and more prevalent; 2) laws and regulations pertaining to natural resource management are in place and working; 3) forest set-asides are largely in place and ensure continued existence of fully functioning ecosystems; and perhaps most importantly, 4) the science of natural resource management has grown dramatically and continues to expand in leaps and bounds.

“The Lorax” reinforces a seldom-discussed reality: professional resource managers across the globe, whether working in the public or private sector, have the ethical requirement to say when enough is enough in terms of nature’s capacity to carry on. That, in the end, is a part of why businesses (“Oncelers”) employ professionals (“Loraxes”) to speak for the trees — for the trees, indeed, have no tongues.

As a manager of responsibly managed forests for more than a century, Finch Paper has long strived to help consumers understand that paper manufacturing and a healthy forest resource go hand-in-hand. We’re thrilled to be getting some new help in spreading the word.

Two Sides U.S., a not-for-profit coalition has launched a new website chock full of insightful facts demonstrating that printing on paper is an environmentally sustainable way to communicate. It’s a great resource for printers and brand owners, and I encourage you to spend some time there.

I also want to remind you that our team of Finch foresters is available to answer your questions about responsible forest management. You can see some of your most frequently asked questions, and connect directly with our foresters by clicking here.

Sure there are advantages today to doing some of our communicating in the digital “cloud.” But paper remains a tremendously useful, impactful and sustainable way to communicate as well, and Finch foresters are proud to help continue that tradition by keeping our feet planted firmly in the forest.