Specious Woods
Press Release Modern Express no. 4
(The other press releases on the modern Express are available here)
According to the French naval headquarters of the Atlantic Ocean there are 3600 tons of sawn timber on board of the Modern Express. On the other hand, the Ministry of Economy of Gabon (after having consulted with the shipping agent Necotrans in Libreville) claims that there are 4089 tons of sawn timber. Necotrans also has an agency in Le Havre.
The fact that Gabon claimed an international investigation of the matter thorough Interpol encourages France to do likewise on its own territory, particularly because the timber unloaded at Le Havre can reach China on board of container ships of Chinese companies that regularly call at Le Havre.
Teak: a colonial tic
If there’s a nostalgic habit rooted in the European disposition, it’s that of strutting about in parcs and gardens, on terraces and balconies, on armchairs and recliners fashioned from exotic woods that have been cut in remote forests and sold in small shops and superstores plundering worldwide in order to make enormous profits at a ethically high price, and to create mega-ports for container ships measuring 350 meters long. Teak is in the highest demand and penchant for the wood has created a teak fever that smells like the steamers and elephants of yesteryear. Nothing beats this little piece of the past – this low-quality souvenir of a long gone era – for a conversation starter on sustainable development.
