Unfortunately it's not surprising to me that IKEA would be doing this. They are often held in high esteem with it being unknown that the Nordic countries are among the worst enemies of life, being the most overpopulated when one considers the natural carrying capacities of their geography that are greatly exceeded through international trade and the plundering and stealing of resources abroad. It is an enormous burden on nature to act as if the North is near the Equator.
In terms of energy consumption per capita, they are world leaders in wastefulness, and even worse than much of the competition due to their geographies. Although historically poor, their own populations are now cursed with the "prosperity" that has come with oil, trade, and democracy, and all the physical and mental ills—not to mention unhappiness and anomie—brought by such prosperity.
Of course many historically understood what all this would do, and that all this would happen, including to the forests, but there is a bias toward optimism and pessimistic predictions unfortunately almost always go ignored.
Those who devastate their own land and forests will always be driven outward in pursuit of resources, like the Romans once were. Without raping countries like Romania to death and killing untold numbers of animals and plants with the forests, most of their own populations would not be able to survive, or sustain their poisonous "standard of living."
Linkola recounted well in his essays his own Finland's destruction of its forests, and it's a mirror of what happened in Sweden. Unlike Denmark, which destroyed its own forests and land far earlier in the Middle Ages! Much like Iceland and England, the former of which no longer even has forests at all—did you know almost the whole island was once forest? They are each among humanity's worst when it comes to hatred for life.
'[The Forest Industry] bargains, makes "Geschäft" and business, and basically it isn't interested at anything else at all. And it can't be either, especially about morality, as the bank and the market are its only gods, it will sell even its grandmother, it will enlarge its store and sell and sell as long as there's merchandise and in the end it sells out. For it does not comprehend most things in the world and future is one of them. A trader's calculations of profitability do not reach to the horizon.'—Pentti Linkola, "It's Dark In The Woods"
Great reporting, thank you! Unfortunately it is supremely disgusting yet so typical of human exploitation of this nearby resource planet. If only this were not happening on our home planet! This is the dark side of putting a price on nature - the money goes into wealthy pockets and living things get destroyed. It seems all we know is war - one kind that kills other peoples and the other "war" that kills off Nature. What fools these mortals be! Will they ever learn?
Unfortunately it's not surprising to me that IKEA would be doing this. They are often held in high esteem with it being unknown that the Nordic countries are among the worst enemies of life, being the most overpopulated when one considers the natural carrying capacities of their geography that are greatly exceeded through international trade and the plundering and stealing of resources abroad. It is an enormous burden on nature to act as if the North is near the Equator.
In terms of energy consumption per capita, they are world leaders in wastefulness, and even worse than much of the competition due to their geographies. Although historically poor, their own populations are now cursed with the "prosperity" that has come with oil, trade, and democracy, and all the physical and mental ills—not to mention unhappiness and anomie—brought by such prosperity.
Of course many historically understood what all this would do, and that all this would happen, including to the forests, but there is a bias toward optimism and pessimistic predictions unfortunately almost always go ignored.
Those who devastate their own land and forests will always be driven outward in pursuit of resources, like the Romans once were. Without raping countries like Romania to death and killing untold numbers of animals and plants with the forests, most of their own populations would not be able to survive, or sustain their poisonous "standard of living."
Linkola recounted well in his essays his own Finland's destruction of its forests, and it's a mirror of what happened in Sweden. Unlike Denmark, which destroyed its own forests and land far earlier in the Middle Ages! Much like Iceland and England, the former of which no longer even has forests at all—did you know almost the whole island was once forest? They are each among humanity's worst when it comes to hatred for life.
'[The Forest Industry] bargains, makes "Geschäft" and business, and basically it isn't interested at anything else at all. And it can't be either, especially about morality, as the bank and the market are its only gods, it will sell even its grandmother, it will enlarge its store and sell and sell as long as there's merchandise and in the end it sells out. For it does not comprehend most things in the world and future is one of them. A trader's calculations of profitability do not reach to the horizon.'—Pentti Linkola, "It's Dark In The Woods"
I am also interested in how the forced move away from IKEA sourcing wood in Russia put even more pressure on the Baltics and Sweden ( https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/ikea-taps-baltics-others-more-wood-supplies-after-shunning-russia-2023-01-26/ ) and how it is yet another layer of how IKEA tries to recoup it's image as a Good Corporation (against war) and yet the way they become 'good' is a fake - they intensify their already poor practices. In a weird way, this has actually helped Russia save their forests and make more money as they now own the IKEA industry and stores just with another name - SWED HOUSE - and they sell replica IKEA but all the profits stay in Russia and Belarus. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/ikea-taps-baltics-others-more-wood-supplies-after-shunning-russia-2023-01-26/
Great reporting, thank you! Unfortunately it is supremely disgusting yet so typical of human exploitation of this nearby resource planet. If only this were not happening on our home planet! This is the dark side of putting a price on nature - the money goes into wealthy pockets and living things get destroyed. It seems all we know is war - one kind that kills other peoples and the other "war" that kills off Nature. What fools these mortals be! Will they ever learn?