A collection of tales regarding the BURNING TREE RIDE which is now
a San Francisco Mini-Mass/Critical Masser tradition..

------------------------------
 
Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 16:49:57 -0800
From: "A. Sojourner" 
Subject: burningtree
 
 
Nth Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Burn !
 
   this friday Jan. 5        and heck maybe next friday too if enough 
trees remain.

       meet JHP.  6:30 pm bicycle standard time.

             depart by 7 pm latest dammit.

Ride to the beach.   Collect discarded Xmas trees along the way. 
Bring bungees or rope (or trailers) for affixation.

      Get to Ocean Beach.   go to, say, Noriega?   down by the 
crosswalk, south of the Park?

             Unhook trees.   Set one on sand.
                   Ignite.  Drink. Repeat.  Drink.  Repeat.  Brawl 
over burning final tree.   Enjoy warmth.



------------------------------

Date: Thu,  4-Jan-2001 01:28:26 GMT
From: Mike Lacey 
Subject: RE: burningtree


Great and fuck up the environment while your at it. Um, I think those 
trees are discarded for a purpose, like to provide mulch for Golden Gate 
Park, not CO2 and toxic gases.  

A. Sojourner wrote:
> Nth Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Burn !
> 
>    this friday Jan. 5        and heck maybe next friday too if enough 
> trees remain.
> 
>        meet JHP.  6:30 pm bicycle standard time.
> 
>              depart by 7 pm latest dammit.
> 
> Ride to the beach.   Collect discarded Xmas trees along the way. 
> Bring bungees or rope (or trailers) for affixation.
> 
>       Get to Ocean Beach.   go to, say, Noriega?   down by the 
> crosswalk, south of the Park?
> 
>              Unhook trees.   Set one on sand.
>                    Ignite.  Drink. Repeat.  Drink.  Repeat.  Brawl 
> over burning final tree.   Enjoy warmth.
> 


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 17:35:13 -0800 
From: Nicole McMorrow 
Subject: RE: burningtree


-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Lacey [mailto:firefly956BLATZhotmail.com]

Great and fuck up the environment while your at it. Um, I think those 
trees are discarded for a purpose, like to provide mulch for Golden Gate 
Park, not CO2 and toxic gases.  

oh, give it a rest.

- nicole

A. Sojourner wrote:
> Nth Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Burn !
> 
>    this friday Jan. 5        and heck maybe next friday too if enough 
> trees remain.
> 
>        meet JHP.  6:30 pm bicycle standard time.
> 
>              depart by 7 pm latest dammit.
> 
> Ride to the beach.   Collect discarded Xmas trees along the way. 
> Bring bungees or rope (or trailers) for affixation.
> 
>       Get to Ocean Beach.   go to, say, Noriega?   down by the 
> crosswalk, south of the Park?
> 
>              Unhook trees.   Set one on sand.
>                    Ignite.  Drink. Repeat.  Drink.  Repeat.  Brawl 
> over burning final tree.   Enjoy warmth.
> 

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------------------------------

Date: Thu,  4-Jan-2001 04:42:01 GMT
From: Jean Diva 
Subject: RE: burningtree


Golden Gate Park was originally sand dunes. The environment that is now 
there is man-made and artificial. Especially (but not only) the asphalt.

The real toxicity here is the concept that trees are a disposable 
commodity. Just grow em and throw em.

Fire is natural. If there weren't millions of cars in the bay area 
spewing more than their share of waste, we wouldn't think twice about 
having a bonfire, which is a concept as old as time. I think its a 
cleaner end for these trees to go to the sea than to the slash and burn 
Golden Gate recreation area. Wander around some of the back paths and 
check out all the trees getting chopped in there. They got plenty of 
mulch, I can tell you that.

If you don't want to be with the bike tribe at the fireside, then don't 
come. 

Also, "Um" is a very tired turn of phrase, lets um retire it. Nothing 
personal, its just real irritating seeing it over and over and over 
again in public lists. Even worse hearing it in person. But maybe I'm 
just bein' touchy. yeah, I am.

Mike Lacey wrote:
> Great and fuck up the environment while your at it. Um, I think those 
> trees are discarded for a purpose, like to provide mulch for Golden Gate 
> 
> Park, not CO2 and toxic gases.


------------------------------

Date: Thu,  4-Jan-2001 05:02:14 GMT
From:  
Subject: RE: burningtree



Mike Lacey wrote (about burning christmas trees):
> Great and fuck up the environment while your at it. Um, I think those 
> trees are discarded for a purpose, like to provide mulch for Golden Gate 
> 
> Park, not CO2 and toxic gases.  

Not to start a flamewar here (pun not intended)...  I mean, you do have 
a point, but I don't think the impact is really all that significant.

The CO2 will eventually be released into the air as the mulch decomposes 
anyway.  Fortunately, the christmas trees (mostly pine and fir, a few 
years old at most) are what the ethanol backers like to call "carbon 
neutral."  That is, in the growing of the trees, they removed as much 
CO2 from the air as they'll replace when they burn.  CO and particulate 
pollution are somewhat significant, but overall, you're probably 
producing about the same amount as the average diesel-powered wood 
chipper might to make the aforementioned mulch.  It's unlikely that 
pressures/temperatures will be high enough to produce significant 
quantities of NOX.

Other toxic gases...  Well, if there's tinsel on the trees, all sorts of 
nasties can come from it, albeit in fairly small amounts.  On the other 
hand, when compared with many alternative forms of recreation, the 
environmental impact remains quite small.  If your conscience still 
won't let you light a few dead trees, compensate by not driving for a 
week. (Oh, wait, you probably do that anyway.  :)

In short, if you're going to get bothered about something, there are a 
lot of things that are way more worthwhile than this.

-Ian
Disclaimer: IANAC (I Am Not A Chemist -- For all you know, I'm 
completely talking out of my ass.)


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 03 Jan 2001 21:28:20 -0800
From: Biker-X 
Subject: Fantasy Burning Tree Ride This Friday Jan. 5


Fantasy Burning Tree Ride This Friday Jan. 5

(Actually two different events.)

Nth Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Burn !
1st Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Compost !
===============================================
this friday Jan. 5 -- and heck maybe next friday too if enough trees
remain.

meet JHP (Justin Herman Plaza, SF, at the foot of Market St.)
6:30 pm bicycle standard time.
rides depart by 7 pm latest dammit.

Ride to the beach.   Collect discarded Xmas trees along the way. 
Bring bungees or rope (or trailers) for affixation.


===EVENT SPECIFICS===

Nth Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Burn!
-------------------------------------------
You've been a good bicyclist all year--you've spared the air, you biked
everywhere, you boycott the GAP, now it's YOUR turn! Drag all the trees
you can for a major flameout at Ocean Beach! Anything goes: burn real
trees with real fire, drink what you like, smoke real cigarettes and pot
(only if you smoke), and try not to singe yourself in all the excitement.
(I know I did!)


1st Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Compost!
----------------------------------------------
You've been a good bicyclist all year--you've spared the air, you biked
everywhere, you boycott the GAP, now it's YOUR turn to do even more! Drag
all the trees you can for a major composting at Ocean Beach! It's PC, it's
fun, it helps Golden Gate Park! Bring saws, axes, chippers, swiss army
knives, and anything else that will help chip up the trees. Hundreds of
thousands of San Franciscans bought trees this winter, after hearing about
the mulch shortage in Golden Gate Park. Donate your Friday night and
rotting vegetables to help out! Fantasize about what it might be like to
burn them, but---NO MATCHES or LIGHTERS, PLEASE!!! Wheatgrass juice and
smiley-face painting provided for all participants. The mulch pile will be
donated to the DeYoung Museum, for its new installation: "Remnants of a
Park." Compost event sponsored by the San Francisco Coalition to Pave
Golden Gate Park "A Greener Museum is Painted Green".


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 03 Jan 2001 21:28:29 -0800
From: Biker-X 
Subject: Fantasy Burning Tree Ride This Friday Jan. 5


Fantasy Burning Tree Ride This Friday Jan. 5

(Actually two different events.)

Nth Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Burn !
1st Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Compost !
===============================================
this friday Jan. 5 -- and heck maybe next friday too if enough trees
remain.

meet JHP (Justin Herman Plaza, SF, at the foot of Market St.)
6:30 pm bicycle standard time.
rides depart by 7 pm latest dammit.

Ride to the beach.   Collect discarded Xmas trees along the way. 
Bring bungees or rope (or trailers) for affixation.


===EVENT SPECIFICS===

Nth Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Burn!
-------------------------------------------
You've been a good bicyclist all year--you've spared the air, you biked
everywhere, you boycott the GAP, now it's YOUR turn! Drag all the trees
you can for a major flameout at Ocean Beach! Anything goes: burn real
trees with real fire, drink what you like, smoke real cigarettes and pot
(only if you smoke), and try not to singe yourself in all the excitement.
(I know I did!)


1st Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Compost!
----------------------------------------------
You've been a good bicyclist all year--you've spared the air, you biked
everywhere, you boycott the GAP, now it's YOUR turn to do even more! Drag
all the trees you can for a major composting at Ocean Beach! It's PC, it's
fun, it helps Golden Gate Park! Bring saws, axes, chippers, swiss army
knives, and anything else that will help chip up the trees. Hundreds of
thousands of San Franciscans bought trees this winter, after hearing about
the mulch shortage in Golden Gate Park. Donate your Friday night and
rotting vegetables to help out! Fantasize about what it might be like to
burn them, but---NO MATCHES or LIGHTERS, PLEASE!!! Wheatgrass juice and
smiley-face painting provided for all participants. The mulch pile will be
donated to the DeYoung Museum, for its new installation: "Remnants of a
Park." Compost event sponsored by the San Francisco Coalition to Pave
Golden Gate Park "A Greener Museum is Painted Green".



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 03 Jan 2001 21:30:57 -0800
From: Biker-X 
Reply-To: sf-critical-massBLATZtopica.com
To: sfbike , sfmass 
Subject: Fantasy Burning Tree Ride This Friday Jan. 5

Fantasy Burning Tree Ride This Friday Jan. 5

(Actually two different events.)

Nth Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Burn !
1st Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Compost !
===============================================
this friday Jan. 5 -- and heck maybe next friday too if enough trees
remain.

meet JHP (Justin Herman Plaza, SF, at the foot of Market St.)
6:30 pm bicycle standard time.
rides depart by 7 pm latest dammit.

Ride to the beach.   Collect discarded Xmas trees along the way. 
Bring bungees or rope (or trailers) for affixation.


===EVENT SPECIFICS===

Nth Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Burn!
-------------------------------------------
You've been a good bicyclist all year--you've spared the air, you biked
everywhere, you boycott the GAP, now it's YOUR turn! Drag all the trees
you can for a major flameout at Ocean Beach! Anything goes: burn real
trees with real fire, drink what you like, smoke real cigarettes and pot
(only if you smoke), and try not to singe yourself in all the excitement.
(I know I did!)


1st Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Compost!
----------------------------------------------
You've been a good bicyclist all year--you've spared the air, you biked
everywhere, you boycott the GAP, now it's YOUR turn to do even more! Drag
all the trees you can for a major composting at Ocean Beach! It's PC, it's
fun, it helps Golden Gate Park! Bring saws, axes, chippers, swiss army
knives, and anything else that will help chip up the trees. Hundreds of
thousands of San Franciscans bought trees this winter, after hearing about
the mulch shortage in Golden Gate Park. Donate your Friday night and
rotting vegetables to help out! Fantasize about what it might be like to
burn them, but---NO MATCHES or LIGHTERS, PLEASE!!! Wheatgrass juice and
smiley-face painting provided for all participants. The mulch pile will be
donated to the DeYoung Museum, for its new installation: "Remnants of a
Park." Compost event sponsored by the San Francisco Coalition to Pave
Golden Gate Park "A Greener Museum is Painted Green".


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 22:47:46 -0800
From: "Michael (SkiBu) Smith" 
Subject: RE: burningtree


For those of you who have never made it to the Drag 'N' Burn, it is one of
the wackiest bicycle events around.  I highly recommend it.   Bring rope,
bungees, and or a trailer and beverages of your choice.

The sight of a bunch of bikes dragging big ol' X-mas trees around will make
you think this is the best X-mas ever...

SkiBu

-----Original Message-----
 Subject: burningtree

Nth Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Burn !

   this friday Jan. 5        and heck maybe next friday too if enough
trees remain.

       meet JHP.  6:30 pm bicycle standard time.

             depart by 7 pm latest dammit.

Ride to the beach.   Collect discarded Xmas trees along the way.
Bring bungees or rope (or trailers) for affixation.

      Get to Ocean Beach.   go to, say, Noriega?   down by the
crosswalk, south of the Park?

             Unhook trees.   Set one on sand.
                   Ignite.  Drink. Repeat.  Drink.  Repeat.  Brawl
over burning final tree.   Enjoy warmth.

To unsubscribe, click...
mailto:sfbike-unsubscribeBLATZtopica.com.

___________________________________________________________
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Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics


------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2001 07:07:54 -0800
From: Kash 
Subject: RE: burningtree


At 05:28 PM 1/3/01 -0800, Mike Lacey wrote:
>Great and fuck up the environment while your at it. Um, I think those
>trees are discarded for a purpose, like to provide mulch for Golden Gate
>Park, not CO2 and toxic gases.

Decomposition produces equal amounts of CO2, do your chemistry.The soot 
from a few trees once a year has no appreciable effect.

GGP is not hurting for mulch. The tree pickup program is to keep organics 
out of the landfill. And it's cosmetic. Compared to the amount of kitchen 
scraps people dump during the year, trees are a drop in the bucket. Better 
to throw all the trees away and add a third organics bucket to the curbside 
recycling system.

We are not Caesar's wife. When drivers take the beam out of their own eye, 
I'll be glad to work on the splinter in ours. This argument is like someone 
accusing, "but you use oil on your chain, DON'T YOU?"

BTW While we're all feeling holier than thou, here's something for everyone 
to chew on.

http://www.weblife.org/humanure/default.html


------------------------------

Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2001 10:21:19 -0800
From: Jym Dyer 
Subject: Re: burningtree 


=v= On a previous occasion, we were dragging some trees off to
the beach and came across an officer of the law.  He told us it
was a *good* thing we were doing, because people put all these
trees out after the pickup week, and then roving bands of
teenaged hooligans set them on fire.  Better us burning them at
the beach than these kids burning them on the sidewalks.

=v= There's an even worse litter problem, you know:  our streets
and sidewalks are just littered with these filthy ugly things
known as "SUVs."  The city keeps neglecting to haul them away
on recycling day.  So it seems to me that, if we take the trees
away, perhaps the hooligans will start burning the SUVs.  Then
*everybody* will be happy!
    <_Jym_>


------------------------------

Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 15:10:07 EST
From: FolderPeteBLATZaol.com
Subject: Re: burningtree


In a message dated 1/3/01 5:28:54 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
firefly956BLATZhotmail.com writes:

> Great and fuck up the environment while your at it. 

Well, I'm kinda with ya on this.  At least as far as generating all that 
particulate matter is concerned.  It may be a wash on the CO2, but ride 
around any chilly evening, and, if you can breathe easy, well, god bless ya.  
Burning wood? in stoves or fireplaces ought to be outlawed, in my book.  

"Let me interrupt your breathing while I stay warm". Ted Rall

I vote for dumping 'em into the bay.  Fish homes.  But I imagine some will 
eschew Earth, Air, and Water, in favor of Fire.  Scoundrels!  Maybe we should 
run by Tony Halls front yard and setup a couple perpendicular to each other 
before igniting.  

How many trees can a bike really pull at one time?  All the way from Alamo 
Sq?  Actually though, sounds like a rather fun event.  Of course, if the cops 
approve, ...  
FP




------------------------------

Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 12:22:26 -0800
From: "Stephen Wickman" 
Subject: RE: burningtree


Shouldn't we be focusing on the industry at the source of all the dead trees
on the streets? Seems to me we should educate people on how absurd it is to
chop down a tree to fill space in the living room for a few weeks.



------------------------------

Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 12:52:35 -0800
From: PaulWBLATZenet.com
Subject: Re: burningtree/burningSUV



Jym said:
>=v= There's an even worse litter problem, you know:  our streets
>and sidewalks are just littered with these filthy ugly things
>known as "SUVs."  The city keeps neglecting to haul them away
>on recycling day.  So it seems to me that, if we take the trees
>away, perhaps the hooligans will start burning the SUVs.  Then
>*everybody* will be happy!

There may be some controversy about whether or not burning
XMAS trees at the beach is a good thing, but I don't see any
controversy about burning SUVs...I'm all for it!

Lets have an SUV cleanup day...where everyone hauls their
useless SUVs to a giant dump, stack em up and burn em!

Paul Wendt



------------------------------

Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2001 13:11:25 -0800
From: Kash 
Subject: RE: burningtree


Actually, It isn't much more absurd than growing wheat just so you can hold 
it in your tummy for a couple of hours before mixing it with heavy metals, 
motor oil and antifreeze, then flushing it out into the ocean.

I can't certify all the trees out there and I'm not going to try, but the 
ones I've seen are no different from any other agricultural product except 
that they used less chemical fertilizer and pesticides to grow than a 
bushel of commercial wheat. And since the soil on the farms where they grow 
them isn't plowed there's a lot less topsoil erosion.

The real shame is that people freak about a few tree farm saplings while 
huge tracts of real forest are being decimated and food production and 
waste disposal are pissing away our precious topsoil.

again:
http://www.weblife.org/humanure/default.html

At 12:22 PM 1/4/01 -0800, Stephen Wickman wrote:
>Shouldn't we be focusing on the industry at the source of all the dead trees
>on the streets? Seems to me we should educate people on how absurd it is to
>chop down a tree to fill space in the living room for a few weeks.
>
>To unsubscribe, click...
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>
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------------------------------

Date: Thu,  4-Jan-2001 22:37:20 GMT
From:  
Subject: RE: burningtree



Kash wrote:
> BTW While we're all feeling holier than thou, here's something for 
> everyone 
> to chew on.
> 
> http://www.weblife.org/humanure/default.html

Not to get too off topic or anything, but if in reading this you find 
that you want more specific and/or locally relevant pollution 
statistics, check out http://www.scorecard.org/.

Then if you want something to get really upset about, type in your 
favorite Bay Area zipcode...

-Ian


------------------------------

Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2001 17:10:12 -0800
From: tobias boyd 
Subject: Re: burningtree/burningSUV


At 12:55 PM 1/4/01 -0800, paulw wrote:

>There may be some controversy about whether or not burning
>XMAS trees at the beach is a good thing, but I don't see any
>controversy about burning SUVs...I'm all for it!

Well, as much as I don't like dealing with them on the streets, it's worth 
pointing out that 60% of the emissions associated with a car or truck 
result from its manufacture. So they may be obnoxious roadhogs, but just 
getting them off the streets won't undo the damage they're responsible for 
- we need to outlaw the damn things. It looked like the insurance industry 
might have done the right thing by vastly increasing the premiums of SUV 
drivers (since they do much more damage in collisions than, say, a 
compact), but now they seem to have lost their nerve. Not to mention that 
burning a huge box full of plastic, nylon, and petroleum distillates is 
likely to be a little nastier than tossing a few pines on the bonfire... TB.

| T o b i a s B o y d | tboydBLATZphoenix-pop.com |



------------------------------



------------------------------

Date: Mon, 08 Jan 2001 00:13:22 -0800
From: Jym Dyer 
Subject: Re: Fantasy Burning Tree Ride This Friday Jan. 5 


=v= This was great.  32 people showed up by my count.  Whee!

> 1st Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Compost!
> ...
> Donate your Friday night and rotting vegetables to help out!
> Fantasize about what it might be like to burn them, but---
> NO MATCHES or LIGHTERS, PLEASE!!!  Wheatgrass juice and
> smiley-face painting provided for all participants.  The
> mulch pile will be donated to the DeYoung Museum, for its
> new installation:  "Remnants of a Park."

=v= I made a short detour to this.  It was lotsa fun, and the
wheatgrass was nice and fresh!  For some reason, though, the
folks at the museum were just a bunch of ol' meanies about the
whole thing.

=v= With smiley-faces painted on my cheeks, I headed back onward
to the beach.  Ever the eco-biker, I snagged some trees that
were definitely not headed for mulching (people are throwing 'em
into dumpsters!), and got to Noriega and The Mediocre Highway in
the nick of time.

=v= Before lighting the trees, somebody announced the official
end of the Season of Hyperconsumption.

=v= The bonfire was great, and then people started tying rope
onto the bottom of the smaller trees, lighting them on fire,
and twirling them around for a spectacular show.  For some
reason there was a _Braveheart_ vibe going there (or maybe it
was from last week's _South_Park_ episode); because while the
trees were in the fire, people yelled, "Hold! ... Hold! ...
Hold! ... LIFT!!!"

=v= Guess you had to be there.  I sorta wished I had blue and
white wode on my face instead of smiley faces.  But then I
festooned myself with blinkies and twirled a tree around
myself.  It turned out to be a long-lasting long-burning tree,
a veritable Duraflame(R) of the evergreens, but thanks to the
wheatgrass juice, I was up to the task.

=v= We saved the biggest tree for last, and burned it in honor
of Chris Robertson while singing the world's most cacophonous
rendition of Monty Python's "Lumberjack Song" and ran naked
into the ocean.
    <_Jym_>


------------------------------


To: Berkeley Mass c/o 
Subject: Berkeley Mass this Friday plus more!
 
Oh yeah, 
 
  the greatest ride on the planet 
    BERFrom jmeggsBLATZlmi.net Mon Jan  8 14:37:44 2001
>Date: Mon, 08 Jan 2001 14:37:19 -0800
>From: Jason Meggs 
>Reply-To: sf-critical-massBLATZtopica.com
>To: sf-critical-massBLATZtopica.com
>Cc: sfbikeBLATZtopica.com
>Subject: Re: Fantasy Burning Tree Ride This Friday Jan. 5 
 
On Mon, 8 Jan 2001, Jym Dyer wrote:
 
=v= This was great.  32 people showed up by my count.  Whee!
>
> > 1st Annual Bicycle Xmas Tree Drag 'N' Compost!
> > ...
> > Donate your Friday night and rotting vegetables to help out!
> > Fantasize about what it might be like to burn them, but---
> > NO MATCHES or LIGHTERS, PLEASE!!!  Wheatgrass juice and
> > smiley-face painting provided for all participants.  The
> > mulch pile will be donated to the DeYoung Museum, for its
> > new installation:  "Remnants of a Park."
>
> =v= I made a short detour to this.  It was lotsa fun, and the
> wheatgrass was nice and fresh!  For some reason, though, the
> folks at the museum were just a bunch of ol' meanies about the
> whole thing.
>
> =v= With smiley-faces painted on my cheeks, I headed back onward
> to the beach.  Ever the eco-biker, I snagged some trees that
> were definitely not headed for mulching (people are throwing 'em
> into dumpsters!), and got to Noriega and The Mediocre Highway in
> the nick of time.
>
> =v= Before lighting the trees, somebody announced the official
> end of the Season of Hyperconsumption.
>
> =v= The bonfire was great, and then people started tying rope
> onto the bottom of the smaller trees, lighting them on fire,
> and twirling them around for a spectacular show.  For some
> reason there was a _Braveheart_ vibe going there (or maybe it
> was from last week's _South_Park_ episode); because while the
> trees were in the fire, people yelled, "Hold! ... Hold! ...
> Hold! ... LIFT!!!"
>
> =v= Guess you had to be there.  I sorta wished I had blue and
> white wode on my face instead of smiley faces.  But then I
> festooned myself with blinkies and twirled a tree around
> myself.  It turned out to be a long-lasting long-burning tree,
> a veritable Duraflame(R) of the evergreens, but thanks to the
> wheatgrass juice, I was up to the task.
>
> =v= We saved the biggest tree for last, and burned it in honor
> of Chris Robertson while singing the world's most cacophonous
> rendition of Monty Python's "Lumberjack Song" and ran naked
> into the ocean.
>
 
 
As those of you who have seen the solemn "From the Files of the FBI"
episode on "The Revolt of the Christmas Trees" will know, the Christmas
Tree Insurrection continues in Berkeley, California.
 
Recent highlights include a very large tree climbing out of a dumpster
downtown to proudly stand in the center of a much-trafficked street at the
entrance to a bleeping honking flashing gaping hole of misery (multi-level
parking garage).  Motormorons cowered and clumbered around like cows and
that's why they should be called Cowrs rather than Cars from now on.  
However, an Angry Man worker emerged from a hotel and muscled the tree
back into a dumpster before taking a chain saw to it.
 
Trees have taken intersections all over Berkeley, especially in the
centers of major arterials.
 
There is an all-trees bulletin for cut and cast trees to join bicyclists
this Friday, January 12, 2001, for a rag-tag drag around town during
BERKELEY CRITICAL MASS.
 
Gather 5:30 PM at the downtown Berkeley BART, to depart after 6:00 PM.
 
From SF, you can take your bicycle on AC Transit, the Caltrans Bike
Shuttle, the Ferry, sneak onto BART during the blackout, bike the bridge,
or take BART early before the blackout.
 
 http://www.bclu.org/couch/
 
--Jason
 
 
%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%
 
 



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2001 03:13:05 -0800
From: Sam Hodgkinson 
Reply-To: sf-critical-massBLATZtopica.com
To: sf-critical-massBLATZtopica.com
Subject: Re: Fantasy Burning Tree Ride This Friday Jan. 5 

What???

Eco-biker?

My goodness, fire is a natural thing but in the current climate ('scuse pun)
isn't it better to prevent it as much as possible?

Nice idea to foul up the beach, considering on our mostly picturesque and
maintained Sydney beaches we have to dodge used syringes and pay for the
clean up of  refuse left behind by locals and tourists holding Christmas
parties on Bondi beach. Funny how quite a few of the litterbug Drug-users
and global travellers would solemly vow and declare their die-hard
Eco-warrior credentials.

All very suspect, and not very nice, you would agree.

Maybe it is a good thing to take seriously others' foresight in not leaving
mess for other people to clean up or choosing composting above sending
plumes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, unless of course you cleaned
up after the big bonfire party and have found some way to reabsorb the CO2
released by the burning: plant a few fast-growing eucalypts in your local
area and maybe the big bonfire was a worthwhile natural, although fleeting
pleasure or at least we can all pretend it was when the atmospheric
concentration of CO2 creeps ever closer to 1% (and makes planet earth
uninhabitable).

Interestingly, I  think alot of newer cars  would emit less fumes than your
average bonfire... Just a passing thought...

Good one, mate!
We are ALL guilty of hypocrisy, but you've left yourself wide open...

Sam.

Sydney, Australia.


> =v= I made a short detour to this.  It was lotsa fun, and the
> wheatgrass was nice and fresh!  For some reason, though, the
> folks at the museum were just a bunch of ol' meanies about the
> whole thing.
>
> =v= With smiley-faces painted on my cheeks, I headed back onward
> to the beach.  Ever the eco-biker, I snagged some trees that
> were definitely not headed for mulching (people are throwing 'em
> into dumpsters!), and got to Noriega and The Mediocre Highway in
> the nick of time.
>
> =v= Before lighting the trees, somebody announced the official
> end of the Season of Hyperconsumption.
>
> =v= The bonfire was great, and then people started tying rope
> onto the bottom of the smaller trees, lighting them on fire,
> and twirling them around for a spectacular show.  For some
> reason there was a _Braveheart_ vibe going there (or maybe it
> was from last week's _South_Park_ episode); because while the
> trees were in the fire, people yelled, "Hold! ... Hold! ...
> Hold! ... LIFT!!!"
>
> =v= Guess you had to be there.  I sorta wished I had blue and
> white wode on my face instead of smiley faces.  But then I
> festooned myself with blinkies and twirled a tree around
> myself.  It turned out to be a long-lasting long-burning tree,
> a veritable Duraflame(R) of the evergreens, but thanks to the
> wheatgrass juice, I was up to the task.
>
> =v= We saved the biggest tree for last, and burned it in honor
> of Chris Robertson while singing the world's most cacophonous
> rendition of Monty Python's "Lumberjack Song" and ran naked
> into the ocean.
>     <_Jym_>


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2001 06:58:58 -0800
From: jonBLATZreproman.com
Reply-To: sf-critical-massBLATZtopica.com
To: sf-critical-massBLATZtopica.com
Subject: Re: Fantasy Burning Tree Ride This Friday Jan. 5



Sam Hodgkinson wrote:
> 
> What???
> 
> Eco-biker?
> 
> My goodness, fire is a natural thing but in the current climate ('scuse pun)
> isn't it better to prevent it as much as possible?

These days this list is only used for announcements about CM and CM type
rides. Discussions and debates happen over at sfbikeBLATZtopica.com. The
argument over burning trees at the beach was already waged at there and
the tree burners won. Check the archives.

Jon


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2001 10:12:45 -0800
From: Biker-X 
Reply-To: sf-critical-massBLATZtopica.com
To: sf-critical-massBLATZtopica.com
Subject: Re: Fantasy Burning Tree Ride This Friday Jan. 5

> unless of course you cleaned
> up after the big bonfire party and have found some way to reabsorb the CO2
> released by the burning: plant a few fast-growing eucalypts in your local
> area and maybe the big bonfire was a worthwhile natural, 

Some idiot did that to California already. The Eucalyptus trees displace
native trees and plants (most of which are fire resistant), creating a
major fire hazard across much of the state. The trees twist as they grow,
so for lumber they're useless. Without herds of ravenous Koalas to keep
them under control, they grow like weeds displacing many beloved native
Christmas trees. 

Whoah!  It's 10am!  Time to crack a Foster's!  Bye!

Biker-X




---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2001 10:22:00 -0800
From: Jym Dyer 
Reply-To: sf-critical-massBLATZtopica.com
To: sf-critical-massBLATZtopica.com
Subject: Re: Fantasy Burning Tree Ride This Friday Jan. 5 

> I think alot of newer cars would emit less fumes than your
> average bonfire...

=v= You've obviously never seen how quickly and cleanly an Xmas
tree burns.  Mind you, we don't usually don't to try to pretend
that it's winter in these parts (unlike certain nations in the
Southern Hemisphere), so not too many of our trees are coated
with flame-retardant phony snow. :^)

=v= As for littered remains, I didn't notice any syringes lying
around, but somehow there were beer bottles in the area, and we
recycled them.  Ashes were swept out to sea, and are due to be
washing up on the shores of Australia any day now.  Sorry, mate.

> Just a passing thought...

=v= Let it pass.  New cars emit fewer of *certain* fumes, the
most tangibly offensive ones, and that lulls people into a sense
of security, but the invisible, mostly-odorless stuff that does
come out is pretty deadly in its own right.
 
=v= Trees used for mulching end up releasing carbon back into
the atmosphere, so using them into a bonfire doesn't make a
whole lot of difference.  The ones we pulled out of dumpsters
were headed to landfill, so a bonfire is probably a better
fate.  Of course, the best strategy overall is to resist the
whole thing in the first place:
 
http://www.xmasresistance.org/
 
    <_Jym_>
 
 
 
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2001 10:37:00 -0800
From: Jym Dyer 
Reply-To: sf-critical-massBLATZtopica.com
To: sf-critical-massBLATZtopica.com
Subject: Re: Fantasy Burning Tree Ride This Friday Jan. 5 
 
=v= Oh yeah, one more thing:
 
> ... and have found some way to reabsorb the CO2 released by
> the burning: plant a few fast-growing eucalypts in your
> local area and maybe the big bonfire was a worthwhile natural,
> although fleeting pleasure ...
 
=v= Xmas trees are grown intensively around here, reabsorbing
CO2.  Unfortunately, they tend to deplete the topsoil.  The
best thing to do would be to plant nut trees and leave the root
ball structure intact when cutting them down.
 
=v= In the San Francisco Bay Area, Eucalyptus trees have been
planted in many locations, but they're an invasive species.
One of the few places where they're not a problem is on the
Golden Gate Park panhandle, an artificial parkland where they're
isolated enough to pose no threat to the ecosystem, and where
they provide shade for the bike path.
 
=v= (I think we ought to take it a step further and introduce
koala bears into the panhandle.  I figure it would discourage
drunks from hanging around and sleeping on the bike path.  I'm
sorry to report, though, that for some reason, neither the San
Francisco Bicycle Coalition's Golden Gate Task Force nor the
city's Bicycle Advisory Committee consider my koala project to
be of much priority.)
    <_Jym_>