Can’t see the beach for the trees

Roger Handford

Ask not what your beach can do for you — ask what you can do for your beach. 

I am astonished our council sees fit to waste so much time and our money trying to figure out what to do about wood on the beaches.

“We will fight them on the beaches . . .”

It would all be so Dad’s Army, but sadly this is not Brit comedy.

It is yet another example of what happens when we do not live WITH nature, instead of always taking everything in the world for human purposes.

The beach is not the problem — neither is driftwood. There are many places in the world where shorelines are a tangle of what the natural succession of life, weather and geologic forces happen to produce.

The bears and caribou, the birds and fishes — no complaints from them.

Ah — but enter humans, stage left (boo, hiss!)

These creatures want somewhere to swim and build sandcastles — somewhere to holiday and camp — somewhere to let their dogs crap — somewhere to throw away their rubbish.

Make way! Make way!

Meanwhile, in a galaxy (sorry pine plantation or farm) not too far away — the busy, productive, money-making sound of chainsaws and bulldozers may be faintly heard.

Just lately, those sounds have been joined by the voice of protest — methinks there could be a conflict of interest? My beach — your forest or farm?

Now plans are for lines drawn in the sand — whose lines is the question for the Delphic Oracle!

Of course, with time and tide, all will eventually be swept away — but meantime, there’s an awful lot of debris still to come down; the accumulation of years of activity that puts profit first — not people or nature.

Even the phrase “land management” has a stench about it -— words like “mitigation” are used. The inexorable domination of humans over all continues, with a bit of window-dressing on the side.

I will put it bluntly — when you shit in your nest, you’d better get used to it.

I will also be cruel — you don’t have the guts to face up to the hard questions. The hard basket is a conqueror of good intentions — it always costs too much, inflicts too much social upheaval, threatens employment and income — and (horror of horrors!) may cost me votes and my cushy seat in local or central government.

I have said before, the walking ape is notoriously reluctant to give up possessions or power.

So sucks, ya boo — watchya gonna do? Call BeachBusters? Sorry, they’re already busy, and in any case cost a bomb.

Tackling the problem at source of origin is an answer some will fight — but humans need to stop creating problems with extractive, make-a-buck behaviour.

Most of all, people will have to learn to accept the changes needed to live within the planet’s resources — such changes will not be easy and they will take time.

See you at the beach — I live with hope!