The so-called “logging without laws’ salvage rider
signed by President Clinton last July has catalyzed many people to
commit acts of civil disobedience. But one person has mounted an
unusual protest in front of the federal courthouse in Eugene,
Oregon. Tim Ream, 33, set up a tent on the courthouse steps Oct. 3
and has not eaten solid food since.
“I couldn’t
think of a more powerful statement,” says Ream, who has lost 45
pounds from his 6-foot-2-inch frame on a broth and juice diet.
Ream, a former bureaucrat with the Environmental Protection Agency
in New York, says he will travel to Washington, D.C., in
mid-December to talk with lawmakers and administration officials
about the need to repeal the rider. He says the rider, which
directs the Forest Service to accelerate the amount of timber it
sells while cutting off citizen access to the courts, is immoral.
After the trip, “I’m going to have to stop
this,” Ream says, noting that his digestive problems have become
severe. But response to the hunger strike has been “fantastic,” he
says. “People have come up to me and said, “I don’t agree with your
position on this issue, but I’m inspired by what you are doing.” So
many today feel that one person can’t make a difference. I’ve come
to realize that everything we do makes a difference whether we want
it to or not.” For more information about Tim Ream and his hunger
strike, call Jim Olmstead at 541/686-0501 or e-mail
jolmstead@igc.apc.org.
* Paul
Larmer
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Hunger striker to head East.
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