Transformers are Real

I titled this video "Transformers are Real" because the incredible engineering that goes in to commercial logging machinery makes the rigs seem lifelike. Granted, they don't transform into cars at the end of the day but it is hard not to be mesmerized by what these behemoth machines do and the scale on which they do it. Consider that the trees in the movie are 80-120 feet tall and must weigh well over 20,000 pounds. Yet, they are felled, thrown about, sorted, debarked, and cut to size as if they were toothpicks. I was also surprised to see that with a concerted replanting effort these forests grow back to a respectable canopy within 20-30 years.
While I now have a much better appreciation and sense of awe for modern logging practices, there is a dark side to all of this as well. Those of us who have to live with the noise, streams of logging trucks, and the barren landscape are not happy when these deforested lands are mindlessly converted to high density housing, or worse, are destined to be stripped bare as surface mines. We are dealing with just this situation in our own neighborhood and are determined to fight Pierce County, Washington and the developers who put dollar signs before what is right. The original intent of capturing this drone footage is for a video I am putting together in opposition of the Fiske Road Surface Mine. Before I put that together, I thought it would be enlightening to share some of the positives of this industrial tech as well.