Deforestation

DEFORESTATION:
IF WE DON’T TAKE ACTION, IT WON’T BE AN ISSUE MUCH LONGER

What we do today creates our future; as the shadow follows the body so we are followed by the law of fate.

- Padma-Sambhava

I wish all to know that I do not propose to sell any part of my country, nor will I have the whites cutting our timber along the rivers, more especially the oak. I am particularly fond of the little groves of oak trees. I love to look at them, because they endure the wintry storm and the summer’s heat, and – not unlike ourselves – seem to flourish by them.

- Tatanka Totanka, or Sitting Bull, Sioux warrior

It is as simple as this — trees produce necessary oxygen (which is what we need to breathe) from carbon dioxide (which we breathe out). Trees are also capable of absorbing much of the carbon dioxide that we pollute our atmosphere with. With these thoughts in mind, realize that throughout our world, forests and tropical rainforests are being destroyed at catastrophic rates to produce timber, paper products, products made from the hardwoods of certain rainforest trees, and for clearing grazing land to raise cheap beef for export to the United States. To add to this, one-third of the world’s population cut forest trees to burn for heat and energy.

Tropical rainforests are one of the world’s most precious natural resources. They are essential for the continuing survival of our human species. Not only do rainforests produce 40 percent of the world’s oxygen, but they are also home to 50 percent of the world’s animal, plant, and insect species. Many types of revolutionary medicines are derived from plants which grow specifically in tropical rainforests; many of these plants are considered to have anti-cancer properties.

According to the Rainforest Action Network, deforestation of the tropical rainforests is the most serious ecological catastrophe of our time. Clearing tropical rainforests disrupts the water supplies upon which over 1 billion people in developing countries depend to grow their food. Indigenous cultures are being destroyed, along with their means of subsistence which has been provided by the disappearing rainforests. As many as 48 species of life forms are pushed into extinction every day. Deforestation is also having a severe impact upon the world’s climate, greatly accelerating problems related to global warming. Already throughout the tropics, deforestation has intensified droughts and caused increased flooding in the wet season.

The tropical rainforests are being destroyed at a rate of 40 to 50 million acres per year, an average of 75 acres every hour of every day. At the present rate of deforestation, almost all of the

accessible tropical forests of West Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America will be gone by the end of the century!

The clearing of rainforest land for beef cattle pasture is one of the largest factors contributing to the destruction of the rainforests, especially in Central America and Brazil. The beef produced there is cheaper than domestic meat and is exported to the United States for use in processed beef products, such as hamburgers sold at fast-food outlets, luncheon meats, pet food, baby food, sausage, and frozen dinners.

Another factor adding to the destruction of the rainforests is the high demand from industrialized countries for tropical hardwoods. The consumption of tropical hardwoods has increased 15 times since 1950.

Most authorities agree that the rainforests of our Earth are crucial to our health and survival, stabilizing the global climate and keeping our biosphere in ecological balance. More than 40 percent of the Earth’s rainforests have been destroyed. By the year 2000, 80 percent of the rainforest may be gone. Many native people believe when the forest dies, the people die.

In the United States, timber companies are harvesting more than 60,000 acres of old-growth forests per year. Virgin forests in the U.S. are clear-cut at the rate of 2 football fields every minute. Less than 5 percent of America’s natural virgin forests remain standing today. Ancient forests of the Pacific Northwest are the largest remaining old growth forests in the world. They once completely blanketed the western Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Now these forests have been severely fragmented by clear-cutting and over-cutting, and almost 90 percent of the original forest is gone. If this trend continues there will be no old-growth forests intact in this nation in just a few short years.

These virgin native forests embody a complex, symbiotic relationship between multitudes of diverse plant, animal, and insect species. Virgin forests are a priceless, irreplaceable ecosystem. They are rich genetic pools of the natural world, and are one of nature’s healthiest biological communities. Our forests help prevent floods, recycle and purify our water, help stop soil erosion, and are a source of inspiration, peace, and beauty for millions of people.

As these trees disappear, so do thousands of species of animals, plants, and insects. Along with species extinction, massive deforestation is also said to be a major factor associated with intensifying the problems of global warming, massive topsoil erosion which renders land infertile, and air pollution. The native forests of the Northwest are the world’s largest storehouses of carbon per acre which, when cut down, release their stored carbon as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – the main cause of global warming. A single tree is capable of absorbing about three-quarters of an ounce of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per day, which is roughly 16 pounds per year. As forests are cut down, the trees not only release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but we greatly diminish our planet’s ability to absorb the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere because of the lack of trees.

Once trees are cut down, the lands are made into “tree farms” and managed solely for future timber production. Furthermore, aerial spraying of herbicides over these tree farms results in toxic chemicals that flow directly into public drinking water.

One may wonder how it is that just a few corporations can be allowed to devastate a national heritage and ruin the last great temperate forest ecosystems on Earth? It seems absolutely absurd — and yet it is true that the law and policies of our government not only permit the invasion of public forests, but provide economic incentive for clearing them as fast as possible! Yes, we taxpayers of this country unknowingly subsidize the wholesale clear-cutting of ancient trees in our own national forests. Billions of dollars per year in corporate timber profits come at the direct expense of our present environment and the health and well-being of future generations. These forests are consumed voraciously and destructively, and are vanishing permanently from the face of the Earth. If we do not take action now, deforestation won’t be an issue much longer!

It is important to keep in mind that even though timber companies could utilize less ruthless logging procedures and adopt more ecologically sustainable methods for preserving our forests, they are in business to supply the demands we, the public, place upon them for products made from that timber. We have as much responsibility as the timber companies to practice moderation and conservation. Americans use 50 million tons of paper a year, consuming 850 million trees to produce that paper. In our offices alone, 4 million tons of office waste paper are disposed of annually. Do you recycle your newspapers or your office waste paper? To save our forests and keep our environment healthy, all of us, from timber companies to manufacturers to consumers, need to make drastic changes in our lifestyles and our corporate policies.

Things You Can Do To Make A Difference:

* Do not buy wood products such as furniture made from tropical hardwoods (teak, mahogany, ebony, or plywood containing mahogany, rosewood, iroko). Buy furniture made from ash, birch, oak, poplar, black walnut, beech, cherry, elm, and hickory. These woods are usually harvested in sustainably managed tropical timber plantations in Japan, Europe, or North America.

* Avoid hamburgers from fast-food restaurants and processed beef products that come from Central America, where they clear the rainforests to raise the beef. This is tricky, because some of the rainforest beef is labeled “American Beef” after it comes into this country. Write to the Secretary Of Agriculture and let him know that you want a beef labeling law which specifies the country of origin.

* Help educate the public by distributing copies of the “Forest Voice,” a hard-hitting, mind-opening publication put out by the Native Forest Council. The Native Forest Council is dedicated to the uncompromised preservation and protection of the nation’s little remaining publicly-owned native virgin forests. Call or write to them

and they will send you a bundle immediately. (Their printing and shipping costs amount to $20 per 100 papers. Any donations made to offset these costs are greatly appreciated!) Native Forest Council – P.O. Box 2176, Eugene, OR 97402 (503) 688-2600 / FAX (503) 461-2156.

* Help save millions of trees and create a cleaner environment by actively participating in programs that facilitate the recycling of paper, office waste paper, and newspaper. Organize a recycling program at your school, apartment building, or in your neighborhood or city.

* Organize a recycling program for your office. Four million tons of office waste paper are disposed of each year! Office paper is in demand by recycling companies who use waste paper for producing other products such as stationery, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. Hundreds of paper mills in the U.S. rely solely on waste paper to produce their products rather than upon forests. We need to support the growing market for waste paper by participating in and organizing recycling programs in our offices.

* Make every effort to use recycled paper products for your home and office needs. Recycle and re-use as much paper and newspaper as possible. Use the blank back sides of used paper for photocopying. (For companies who sell recycled paper products, refer to the resources given at the end of the chapter on “The Benefits Of Using Recycled Paper Products.”)

* Purchase a reusable canvas or nylon shopping bag to use instead of paper or plastic bags. Develop the habit of bringing it with you for shopping and for other needs that may arise. You will be surprised to find how good this feels once you break the “bag habit.”

* Plant trees. We need all the trees we can plant, in all of the areas it is possible to plant them. Plant extra trees and shrubs around your home; they absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.

* Use indoor plants in your home, office, classroom, etc. to add a natural touch to the environment as well as to help supply a healthy oxygen supply.

* Send letters to your senators and representatives, asking them to enact strong legislation to protect all remaining old-growth forests, to subsidize the construction and use of paper recycling plants, to restore badly damaged lands (from logging) to their natural condition, and to stop log exports and close the “substitution” holes that allow companies to export timber from their private land and then buy timber from federal lands to supply their domestic mills.

For Further Information Contact:

* Rainforest Action Network – 301 Broadway, Suite A, San Francisco, CA 94133 415-398-4404. RAN is an international, non-profit, activist organization working to save the world’s rainforests. RAN offers the Alternative Wood Guide to help you with the responsible purchasing of wood products.

* Worldwatch Institute – 1776 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036-1904 (202) 452-1999. One of the many educational resources Worldwatch Institute offers is a report called Reforesting the Earth (available for $4).

* Native Forest Action Council – P.O. Box 2171 Eugene, OR 97402 503-688-2600. Dedicated to the protection of old-growth forests in the United States.

* Association Of Forest Service Employees For Environmental Ethics (AFSEEE) – P.O. Box 11615, Eugene, OR 97440 (503) 484-2692. AFSEEE is a non-profit corporation utilizing educational and outreach activities for promoting ecologically sustainable management practices and an environmentally sensitive resource ethic in public resource management agencies, especially the Forest Service. Membership is $20 per year.

* Alliance For The Wild Rockies (AWR) – P.O. Box 8731, Missoula, MT 59807 (406) 721-5420. AWR is an alliance of individuals and organizations dedicated to the protection of natural forest ecosystems and wildlife in the Wild Rockies Bioregion. Membership is $15 per year.

*Atlantic Chapter Of The Sierra Club – C/O Sierra Club, 625 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 (212) 473-7841. Dedicated to preserving and restoring America’s wildlife and wilderness.