Wood is one of the few renewable resources, so there is no question about the need to maintain forests. Most irreversible damage is done now in third world countries, I don't think interest rates have a big role to play there. I hate to sound repetitive, but market/profit system and the lack of alternative energy will keep the destruction going. Eva I don't disagree with you, but this is part of a summary of Lester Brown's State of the World I just got. Something is being done. More is needed. Renewable energy production is expanding at a breakneck pace. Wind generation-the world's fastest growing energy source during the 1990s-is expanding by 25 percent a year. In contrast, the markets for coal and oil are expanding at only 1 percent a year. Installed wind electric generating capacity reached an estimated 7,600 megawatts by 1997. In Denmark, wind turbines already generate 6 percent of the nation's electricity. An inventory of U.S. wind resources by the Department of Energy indicates a vast national potential, with three wind-rich states alone-North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas-having enough harnessable wind energy to satisfy national electricity needs. A similar inventory in China indicates that it could easily double its current electricity generation by harnessing wind energy. Early leadership in wind energy production came from the United States and Denmark. More recently, Germany and India, new wind superpowers, have surged into the lead. Tomen, a Japanese firm, plans to invest $1.2 billion in the installation of 1,000 large wind turbines in Europe over the next five years. With the cost continuing to decline as technologies advance and as the scale of turbine manufacturing increases, wind promises to become a major power source. Elinor Mosher Paradise, Nova Scotia Canada B0S 1R0 Here's freedom to him that wad read, Here's freedom to him that wad write! There's nane ever feared that the truth should be heard But they wham the truth wad indite. Robbie Burns