The Legacy of Luna

Transformed into a human shield, Julia Hill, lived high up in a tree with the extraordinary conviction that she had to defend - in any way possible - a California forest that was on the verge of falling to a logging company's ax.

The Pacific Lumber Company was the target against which Hill wielded her unusual form of defense: living in a tree in an attempt to halt the logging of the Headwaters forest, whose mysticism had captivated her.

The young woman lived among the branches of a 600-year-old sequoia, 80 meters tall, which lost its anonymity to become known the world over as ''Luna,'' the name Hill had given her new home. She began living in the tree in December 1997. Two years later, Julia Hill came down out of the tree, after Pacific Lumber offered to invest in forestry research.

She recently presented the book "The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods".

If you would like to know more about her story

Forests and Agenda 21

The threats to the earth's forests, ecosystems without which human beings could not survive, are outlined at an Internet site we recommend if you would like to know why it is so urgent to fight excessive exploitation of natural resources and halt ''the chainsaw massacre.''

Connect yourself to: www.rolac.unep.mx/mrescate/esp/libro/mrpg20e.htm to learn about the points related to forests included in Agenda 21, the framework of measures for governments, businesses, non-governmental organizations and citizens to preserve the environment.

The site offers elements to help us understand that forests are something more than a group of trees. For example, in the Amazon tropical rainforest, a scientist discovered that a single tree serves as a home to 2,000 different species. Trees are vital to our global ecosystem because they absorb the carbon dioxide produced by human activity.


Certified Woods

For many nations, forests are a fundamental element of the economy, particularly for non-industrialized nations. In an article at its website, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) outlines the process of certifying the forests in a sector of the Amazon Basin, in Brazil.

Itacoatiara is a city in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, of 120,000 inhabitants, and holds the first forest of this type to receive certification from the Forest Stewardship Council. To find out more about the impact of the decision to produce native certified native wood on the local economy, connect yourself to: www.panda.org/news/features/story.cfm?id=1883

Photo: Julia Hill, in "Luna".

The chainsaw massacre/Mauricio Ramos.