The Rainforest – A Celebrity Cause?

We as humans are very cynical people. We look at people doing something for the good of the planet, or of other people, and we question their motives. When it is someone in everyday life, we wonder what is in it for them. When it is a celebrity, we assume that they are doing it for the profile, for the good publicity and the points that they can score. This is a heartbreakingly cynical way to behave.

There is no doubt that a lot of people in the public eye do things for charity, or for the environment, because they feel it will give them a better profile and aid their publicity drives for their next film, their new album, or a book they are looking to sell. Nonetheless, the fact remains that the good work still gets done, and there are many people who actually do it because they think it is important. The publicity concern is only a problem when it begins to blur the boundaries between doing good work and saying that you are doing good work.

If a celebrity pays lip service to the work they are doing without actually doing anything, it makes people a lot more cynical about their motives and about the cause that they claim to be supporting. In that light, it is worth holding people to account over their claims to be working to save the rainforest. Watch what they do and what they say, and if they are genuine it is only fair to applaud them for what they are doing.

The Perils Of Short-Term Thinking

One of the major reasons that deforestation happens is because it is very easy for companies to do it. As there is little financial cost involved in chopping down trees compared to other ways of sourcing raw materials, it continues to happen. But what is rarely confronted is the fact that if the rainforests were left standing, they would be of more financial value to the world – if they are left as they are, it is possible to harvest what they provide. If they are cut down, we have that much wood and then nothing.

It is hard to get a multinational company to think this way. The short-termist way of looking at things is one that appeals to these companies because it allows them to meet their targets, pay their bills and take the biggest share of the market. When they have exhausted this natural resource, they will all be looking for another way of doing things – but they assume that something will turn up, and don’t particularly worry about what it will be.

This kind of short-termist thinking is damaging for the planet and for those companies, because assuming that something will turn up is no way to run a business for the future. Once the natural resources are gone, this planet will be struggling for a way to keep on an even keel, and the consequences for all of us could be dire. Many companies are now looking further forward, but the battle is far from won so we must keep a focus on the survival of the planet.

Facts About Deforestation – And How It Is Affecting Us

It is a little known fact that while once rainforests made up about 14% of the earth’s surface, the figure today is less than 6%. That means that over time, for mostly commercial reasons, we have lost more than half of the rainforests in the world – and if things continue at their present rate, we could lose the remainder in the first half of this century. When you consider that trees are an invaluable source of oxygen for humans, nutrition for soil and a habitat for wildlife, this is a scary statistic.

It has also been calculated that almost half of the different species of plants and animals in the world will come under threat from deforestation in the next twenty-five years. Although many of these species are relatively unknown to man, their contribution to the delicate balance of life on this planet cannot be overestimated. Throwing them away so that we can have cheaper fast food and certain other conveniences is a terribly short-sighted thing to do.

A fact often ignored is that there are tribes living in many of the world’s rainforests, and that over the last century we have already lost close to a hundred different tribes. By destroying a tribe’s habitat, pressure is placed on the people in that tribe, and this pressure passes on to other people and areas. Once the rainforests are gone, what will be next to disappear? It is incumbent upon us to let our industries know that short-term thinking will cripple us all in the end.

Consumer Pressure To Save Our Forests

It is often tempting to refrain from highlighting environmental issues in a world where people are continually cynical about the value of environmental activism. When you stand to be mocked by people for caring about something, it can be very difficult to keep the battle going. This is why it is important that those with the courage of their convictions are ready to speak up on behalf of everyone who cares – especially when the opposing forces are often very powerful and have things all their own way.

The most telling way to protest against an organization that contributes to deforestation is to hit them where it hurts – in their pocket. When an organization thinks it can do what it likes, when it likes, it will go ahead and do the thing that costs them less money and makes them more. So the sensible way to take them on is to boycott them and let them know why. Faced with consumer pressure, a company will often back down and look to do the thing that will preserve their good reputation.

It is true to say that it often costs more to do things the green way – this is an unavoidable fact of life. But as time goes on and the environmentally friendly way of doing things becomes the norm, it will become easier and cheaper for companies to be green, and to pass savings on to their customers. When faced with the realization that plundering natural resources is unsustainable, it is important to look at sustainable ways of doing things, even if that means a short-term financial cost.

It’s Not Just The Trees

Deforestation causes problems that are not solely concerned with the trees that grow in a forest. In a forest, there is all manner of life that lives and grows. It is often ignored that within a forest, there are trees, animals and plants that all contribute to the ecosystem of the area. Destroying a forest is not just damaging because of the trees that are lost. Often, there are consequences that go far beyond what is assumed by the majority of people. This is seldom mentioned in connection with the plant life in the forests of the world.

Among the plants growing in threatened forests, there are many which can commonly be used for medical purposes. These are often rare plants which can be and are used in creating medicines that will save lives. Once the plants are gone, their ingredients cannot be made in a laboratory, so there is a lot at stake when companies decide to send in the chainsaws and cut down a significant part of this world’s delicate balance.

It is important to remember this when the issue of deforestation is discussed. It is quite bad enough that we lose trees that contribute just by standing there, but the natural world that is protected by them often carries things that we are all the poorer for losing. Balanced against the ease of access to cheaper, smoother paper and a burger and fries, it is not hard to see why so many of us are deeply concerned over the potential loss of a large amount of forest land.

Forest Fires – A Continuing Danger

It seems as though not a summer goes by without there being a major forest fire somewhere in the world. It is perhaps hardly surprising – one of the fastest burning fuels in the world is wood, and in a forest there is a ready supply of kindling for these environmental disasters. Is enough being done to stop this happening?

The causes of forest fires are somewhat varied. It is not uncommon for them to happen by accident – a camp fire lit in the forest is only partially extinguished and continues to smoulder, a discarded cigarette is not fully stubbed out and with the dried leaves lining the forest floor, it is all too easy to see what will happen next.

There are other occasions when a forest fire can be caused by extreme heat and drought. The fiercer the heat, the drier the ground will become. In such circumstances all that is necessary is for something flammable to reach flashpoint and there is another environmental disaster. It is for this reason that it is important to remove all rubbish and avoid leaving things around that may be combustible.

Then there are the forest fires caused by deliberate arson. It is hard to understand the motivation of people who deliberately start forest fires but, given the environmental and frequently directly fatal consequences of their actions, the actions of these people are disturbing and inexcusable. Recent forest fires in Australia and in the USA have been blamed on arson – and in many cases these fires have caused fatality in humans as well as animals.

Forests: A Natural Habitat

One of the more common insults thrown around with regard to environmentalists is the term “tree hugger”. The impression given by this insult is that people who are against deforestation have such a bee in their bonnet about saving trees that they do not care about living, moving creatures. The suggestion is that it would be more understandable to try and save animals than trees, so deforestation is not as big an issue as the slaughter of animals.

What is often ignored, though, is that the loss of forests as an issue is inseparable from the issue of animal welfare. There are many species of animal who make their home in the forests that are under threat. When large-scale logging takes place for any reason, these animals are deprived of their natural habitat – and those who are unfortunate enough to be present while it is happening are often killed. Many of these species are endangered already. Depriving them of their natural habitat can only hasten their departure from our planet.

There is a great necessity to ensure that when trees are cut down, it is only done in the absence of viable alternatives. The easy option is to cut down trees and bank the money, but this is a short-term gain at best when one considers that for the financial gain to continue, there needs to be a resource there. Deforestation is particularly problematic because it destroys in a short space of time something that took a very long time to create.

Why Are The Forests Disappearing?

The scale of deforestation in this world over the last few decades dwarfs that which took place in thousands of years prior to any of us being born. That this has happened during the period of time in which the environmental movement has been a going concern should be a worry to us all. Why are so many trees being cut down, even as we become more and more aware of the important part that they play in sustaining our lives?

The fact is that, as much as we rely on trees for environmental reasons, they are also pretty useful to people who have another priority. Cutting down trees is a major part of the paper-making industry, for one thing. It is considered by many that freshly-made paper, made from wood pulp, is of a better quality than more environmentally beneficial recycled paper – so the chopping down of trees continues.

There are more reasons than that, though. Industries like fast food rely to some extent on deforestation – by cutting down lots of trees they create more wide open spaces for cattle to graze, allowing them to have a greater profit margin. This is not to mention the widespread use of wood in other forms of manufacturing. Some of this is through necessity, but as often as not it is purely down to expediency. It is important to make a distinction between necessary logging and commercially-driven deforestation – trees are important resources, not to be wasted for easy gain.

What Is Sustainability?

The environment benefits from people’s actions to protect it, and the more we all do the longer our planet can continue to thrive. One of the most important things we can all do is live a more sustainable lifestyle. But what is sustainability?

Our planet has suffered in recent years from the plundering of its natural resources, most usually for manufacturing. One obvious example is the cutting down of trees to make paper. The fact is that it takes decades for trees to grow to the point where they are worth cutting down for paper, and very little time at all for that paper to be used – a book is read, a magazine is thrown away, some food is packaged, and then it is dumped. Meanwhile, the trees that have been planted to replace the ones cut down are barely even beginning to grow.

If we continue to use resources so fast and so carelessly, it is inevitable that we will run out of the natural resources – and this is the issue behind sustainability. It is much better for the planet that we decide to use recycled paper where possible. If we fail to take account of the issue of sustainability, we will find ourselves in a position where we have no more resources and no way of making more. Whether it is by planting trees, cutting down on our use of paper or by using recycled paper, we need to do more to ensure a sustainable lifestyle.

Does Planting A Tree Make Any Difference?

Well-meaning people have recently begun to do their bit to fight back against the loss of natural resources by either planting, or paying for someone else to plant, trees of their own. Aside from being one sure-fire way to earn the derision and criticism of enviro-skeptics, is this ever going to have much effect? After all, what difference does one tree make?

It should be fairly clear that this is not really the right question to ask. Of course, one person planting one tree is not going to offset the carbon pollution caused by even one small part of the airline industry, or by one car in the course of its lifetime. However, the real battle is between the amount of benefit to the environment from planting one tree and the benefit that results from planting none at all.

If we took the attitude that one person cannot make a difference, and applied it to everyone, then nothing would ever get done – but if we each took the attitude that a small step is better than standing still, then we would have mass action, something that really does make a difference. Rather than assuming that your contribution will be swallowed up by the damage caused by others, it is much better to take the attitude that all of us together can make a difference – and even if you are a lone voice, it is better to make some noise than let others simply do what they want unchallenged.

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