Bagpipes are now on the long list of things that are a threat to our environment. Whaaa?! Apparently, the wood used to make that most blessed of instruments is the endangered African Blackwood which faces extinction from overlogging.
I'm just not sure. Part of me thinks it's unpatriotic from a Scottish perspective to destroy the environment for bagpipes, especially since so many of our forebears lived off the land. On the other hand, something tells me that there can't possibly be such a tidal wave of global demand for bagpipes that entire forests are being clearcut for that purpose. Or, as "pipe major and manufacturer David MacMurchie, who uses Blackwood,...said, ""I for one am not going be made to feel guilty by a bunch of misguided environmental do-gooders; I am sure that the communities in Africa use a hell of a lot more Blackwood than bagpipe manufacturers. It is unfair and misleading to try to blame it all on us." However you come down on the issue, I'm calling upon all concerned parties to join me in planting a Bagpipe Tree. That way you can have your pipes and seed them too.
scotsman.com
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