Polluters are not Julia Butterfly Hill's greatest enemy. Nor are congressmen or logging companies.
Hill's worst villain is ignorance. And the environmentalist is on a mission to inform, stimulate, and inspire everyone she talks with to question the world and do something to improve it.
Hill spoke at the Slee Concert Hall Thursday night as part of UB Green's Eco-Fest. The festival, a series of events from Tuesday to Thursday, was an effort to promote environmentalism and awareness to the student body. Hill's lecture was billed as the highlight of the festival.
Hill is best known for having lived in the canopy of a 200-feet-tall Redwood tree in California for two years and eight days, from November 1997 to December 1999. Hill took up residence in the 1,000-year-old tree, which she named Luna, to prevent Pacific Lumber/Maxxam Corporation, a California-based logging company, from cutting it down.
Speaking for a little over an hour to an overflowing audience, Hill came out onto the stage barefoot, with nothing but a cup of tea and a microphone.
During the speech and an interview with The Spectrum, Hill not only told of her experiences while living in Luna, but also explained her role as an active environmentalist.
"When I ended up in the spotlight, I realized that there aren't too many groups getting active. At first, my goal might sound very broad, but it's really very specific," she said, during the interview. "A lot of my work deals with youth and getting organized. There are a lot of different routes to take, but I want to activate mobility. I have the focus of helping individuals get active."
Although Hill is staunch in her beliefs, she does not take disagreements as insults.
"I promote questioning," said Hill during the interview. "I don't necessarily believe that everyone should agree with me. But if they don't agree with me, I want it to be because they questioned it and came to their own beliefs."
After explaining her current role in activism to the audience, Hill told the tale of how she came to live in Luna.
Hill's protest started in November of 1997 during a visit to the Redwood Forest in California. Upon learning that Pacific Lumber was planning to cut down the trees, Hill volunteered to tree-sit.
Originally, Hill told her friends and family that she would only be up in the tree for a few weeks. But after a few weeks had passed, Hill realized that she could not come down until she completed her goal of thwarting the company's plans.
"There were many times when I questioned if I should come down. But I had to ask myself, 'Would I be more effective on the ground or in this tree?' But eventually, the company agreed to protect the land, and that was the time to come back to the ground," Hill told The Spectrum.
In efforts to force Hill from the tree, Pacific Lumber used many tactics, including bright spotlights, bullhorns and even low flying helicopters, which created winds of over 100 mph.
"I just went crazy. What they were doing to me was crazy," said Hill. "Instead of fighting the sleep deprivation and everything, I became one with it. That's how I got through it. In going crazy with it, I was able to flow with it."
Hill does not hold a grudge, though, and even sent Pacific Lumber President John Campbell Christmas cards and letters.
"I had to think of John Campbell as a person and speak to him like that. If I had just called them names, it gives them a reason to hate me," said Hill. "I was raised to do unto others as you want done unto you. Everything you put out will get back to you. So if I want to live in a respectful world, I couldn't put out disrespect."
Using a rope that Hill referred to as her umbilical cord, volunteers visited once a week to lift food and supplies to Hill's platform, 108 feet above the ground. Hill stayed in contact with the world through a solar-powered radiophone and a wind-up radio that was donated to her.
Although Hill was Luna's sole occupant, she said leisure time was scarce in the two years she lived in the tree.
"I spent six to eight hours a day on the phone, talking to groups like I do now. Except instead of me on a stage, it was a speakerphone addressing the audience," said Hill during her lecture. "But I was a lot busier than I could have imagined. I spoke to many groups, including congressmen and the United Nations."
After 738 days, Hill came down from Luna, and she immediately bent down to kiss the ground.
"I was going through waves of emotions. I was leaving this experience. Part of it was being able to touch the ground again. While in the tree, I realized that I took so many things for granted, including walking on the Earth," Hill said during the interview.
Since leaving Luna, Hill has been working to get everyone she can to participate in helping the environment. According to Hill, people need not be a member of any organization to help.
"If you breathe, then you're an environmentalist, whether you know it or not," she told the audience.
