I was just watching the television show How Do They Do It on the Science Channel. One of the chapters in episode six was about manufacturing milk cartons and the first part of that covered the harvesting of trees for pulp.
I've lived in several regions of the U.S. with heaving logging and seen clear cutting for paper pulp all over North America, but I'd never seen the actual process up close and personal like this.
They showed this dude operating what has to be one of the most menacing looking vehicles I've ever seen. I think it was the Rottne H-20 clear-felling harvester which was described as being able to "fell, strip, and saw a 100 foot tree in less than a minute." Oh, and all from a comfortable climate-controlled cab.
What a beast. It's got these massive jaws on the end of a long boom that grasp the tree and a chain saw that swings out and cuts the tree off at the base. Then it's fed through a pair of massive grinder wheels to strip the tree of its branches and feed it through the harvester jaw where it's sawed into 13 foot sections.
It totally reminded me of the Leveller in the animated movie, FernGully: The Last Rainforest. If you haven't seen the movie, I recommend it. What I didn't realize when I saw it back in the early '90s was that "the Leveller" was actually a real machine. It seemed to be so over the top in its menacing capabilities that I thought it was pure fiction.
Boy was I surprised to see that the thing is not only real, it's even ghastlier than its portrayal in FernGully. See the Leveller in action here and here. Then take a look at this YouTube video to see the real harvester in action.
Just wow.
