[wordup] Treesitting with Wi-Fi

[david nicol]

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From: Adam Shand <adam at personaltelco.net>
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Now this is cool. :-)

Adam.

Via: ptp at lists.spack.org
From: http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,56660,00.html

Treetop Blogging Protests Logging
By Amit Asaravala

Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,56660,00.html

02:00 AM Dec. 12, 2002 PT

EUREKA, California -- Unlike most people her age, 27-year-old "Remedy"
hasn't checked her e-mail in over eight months. That's because she's
been living in a 200-foot-tall redwood since March 21, when she climbed
the tree to protest timber harvesting by Pacific Lumber Company.

Now, thanks to an anonymous group of tech activists, Remedy's Spartan
lifestyle -- she perches 130 feet up on a 4-by-8-foot platform with just
a few blankets, cooking utensils and personal items -- is about to change.

For the past four weeks, the group of self-described geeks has been
working on a plan to provide tree-sitters in the Headwaters Forest
region of Northern California with access to an 802.11b wireless network.

"It's awesome," said Remedy, who, like the other activists trespassing
on Pacific Lumber property, declined to give her full name. "I miss
being on the Internet. But, of course, e-mail is just a fringe benefit.
I want to use the Internet to spread the word about what's going on out
here."

Headwaters has been the scene of numerous clashes between Earth First
environmentalists and Pacific Lumber ever since the company was acquired
by Maxxam Corporation in a 1986 hostile takeover. Over the past year,
more than 15 protestors at a time have occupied various trees on Pacific
Lumber property, preventing loggers from completing their work.

While some tree-sitters, like the now-famous Julia Butterfly Hill, have
attracted the attention of major media outlets, the tech activists hope
their wireless network will encourage sitters to post independent weblogs.

"This is partially to make a personal stand in protection of the earth,"
said "Rabble," one of the project's organizers who also declined to give
his full name. "And it's partially about having the story personalized
in a way the media can spin a story around."

The group of five young activists, from the San Francisco Bay Area's
Independent Media Center and regional wireless user groups, has already
provided Remedy with a Linux-based laptop and a panel antenna. A car
battery recharger powers the equipment, which will connect to an 802.11b
access point 5.5 miles away in Eureka.

The activists have also set up a weblog for Remedy. Her first two
messages were posted to the site with the help of supporters on the
ground who carried disks from the tree to a computer in the city. She
looks forward to being online soon so she can publish on her own.

"It's going to be overwhelming to be online again," said Remedy. "People
tell me my inbox is full. I'm not even sure if I remember all my account
information anymore."

Setting up the network hasn't been easy. Because the Headwaters
tree-sits take place on private property, many supporters are wary of
being pressed with felony conspiracy charges or named in strategic lawsuits.

Mary Bullwinkle, a Pacific Lumber representative, acknowledged that the
company had filed such a suit in 2001. "These protestors are on private
property," she said. "We believe they are breaking the law."

The activists also face a problem in Eureka: A tree behind the house
where they have mounted their 802.11b access point threatens to block
the necessary line of sight to Remedy's antenna if it shifts in the wind
or grows more leaves.

"We should just cut the tree down," joked one member before getting
serious about the tree's water content and how much of the signal it
might block.

The group may decide it needs to move the access point to a different
location on the property, or find another house.

"We'll go door-to-door if we have to," said Rabble. "Getting the
tree-sits online will not only be cool, it will be a way to use recycled
technology and free software to empower people fighting to save the
planet."

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