In “The Lorax” the tufts of the truffula trees are found to be the perfect material to make an incredibly versatile invention called a “Thneed.” When the Once-ler, creator of this invention, begins to manufacture the thneeds, he uses a technique that appears to be sustainable; he clips a little bit off each tree, along with his helpers, and waits until the tree recovers before clipping off more. The Once-ler took on this technique after talking to the Lorax and being persuaded to be sustainable and to reduce his eco-footprint.
Eventually the demand for thneeds increases to a point where this sustainable technique of obtaining the truffula trees tufts is not producing enough tufts. The only other apparent method that would meet the increasing need is to cut down the trees. The Once-ler is, at first, uneasy about cutting down trees, as a result of his talks with the Lorax, but he gets more and more comfortable with the idea once he sees the benefits. The evolution of emotions is revealed by a song that accompanies the scene of the Once-ler cutting down the truffula trees. At the beginning it is obvious that the Once-ler is uncomfortable cutting down the trees, however, by the end of the song the Once-ler does not care about the trees, only money, “All the customers are buying and the money is multiplying…, who cares if a few trees are dying.”-The Once-ler, The Lorax (2012). This method of obtaining the truffula tree tufts is not sustainable and greatly increases the Once-lers eco-footprint, the effects of this soon come to light.
As a result of the Once-lers carelessness, all the bar-ba-loots (bear like animals), swomee-swans (swans) and humming-fish (singing fish) all have to move away. They have to find a place where they can survive as the ecosystem becomes unbalanced by the deforestation. The bar-ba-loots are affected directly, they eat the fruit of the truffula trees so they are the first that have to move. The effects then move down the food chain until the area becomes lifeless and barren. The Once-lers way did not come without enviromental consequences, they just did not become apparent immediately.
