I committed to be a "volunteer blogger" for the pilot Replanting the Rainforests Campaign this year. The Replanting the Rainforests program is a fantastic program that is currently running the "Earth Day Birthday Gift to Our Planet Campaign" - a grassroots effort designed to tap into the power of blogging, volunteering, and social networking to spread the word about the campaign, and to make a difference through contributions, no matter how small. The ultimate goal is to raise $1 million by April 22, Earth Day in order to replant the rainforests.
Not another Conservation Program
This is not a Conservation Program. Conservation is critical, but 80% of the planets native forests are gone and conservation is no longer enough.
Not another Tree Planting Program
This is not simply Tree Planting program. There are several other tree planting programs, but these programs are fatally flawed. These programs do not have control of the lands where the trees are planted and in most cases the trees are planted in areas that have a history of deforestation.
Three "Critical Need" Projects for 2009
Borneo Reforestation - Save the Orangutans
Costa Rica Playa el Rey Reforestation - Saving Mono Titi
Belize Reforestation - Save the Jaguar
Sustainably Managed Permanent Rainforest Habitats
The Replanting the Rainforest Program creates Sustainably Managed Permanent Rainforest Habitats. Within these habitats both sustainable forestry and permagriculture techniques will be employed that will as close as possible mimic natural processes so as not to upset the continuity of the forest environment. The natural array of biodiversity is meticulously safeguarded, while at the same time the economic engine necessary is created to prevent the un-sustainable exploitation of the resource.
For more information, see: www.replantingtherainforests.org
Make the Easy Choice
Volunteer, Learn, Spread the Word, Blog, Contribute (no amount too small) to help replant the rainforests. It's our planet to nurture. We take so much from it, it's time to give back.
Posts
Replanting the Rainforests is a great initiative! Thanks for sharing this. Rainforests are the "Lungs of our Planet" providing the essential environmental world service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20 percent of world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest! Closer to home, check out how much damage has been done to our own great coastal estuaries like Puget Sound an the Chesapeake Bay. This might kick a few into action:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/poisonedwaters/
So true, Paolo. I recently read a disturbing article suggesting that in the face of severe drought, caused by climate change, the Amazon rainforest will actually reverse their role as carbon sink and instead emit the greenhouse gas: "Researchers have found that, for a period in 2005, the Amazon rainforest actually slipped into reverse gear and started to emit more carbon than it absorbed.
ReplyDeleteFour years ago, a sudden and intense drought in the Amazonian dry season created the sort of conditions that give climate scientists nightmares. Instead of being a net absorber of about two billion tons of carbon dioxide, the forest became a net producer of the greenhouse gas, to the tune of about three billion tons.
The additional quantity of carbon dioxide left in the atmosphere after the drought – some five billion tons – exceeded the annual man-made emissions of Europe and Japan combined. What happened in the dry season of 2005 was a stark reminder of how quickly the factors affecting global warming can change."
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/revenge-of-the-rainforest-1638524.html
The link you post is so sad also - a major call to action. I'll write about it for sure in another post. Thanks so much for the link - Happy Earth Day!