Word: rainforest
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...experience of living in the rainforest andlearning about ecology and plant species andtaking hikes was a lot different than sitting in aclassroom and looking at books," he says...
When he first proposed the idea of forest protection to the Eyak Corp., his fellow board members voted him down, 8 to 1. "They called me a greenie and a tree hugger," he recalls. Undeterred, Lankard gave up his fishing business, set up the Eyak Rainforest Preservation Fund and began lobbying politicians and native Alaskans throughout the state. "Indigenous people have thousands of years of being preservationists," he would argue. "We need to become stewards of the land again." In Lankard's view, not only the trees and streams were endangered; so were the native cultures that depended on them...
This international group oversees other expert organizations that certify well-managed forests and their wood products. FSC-approved inspectors (in the U.S. they would be from the Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood group or Scientific Certification Systems) check to see whether a landowner harvests wood in a way that does not harm animal habitats, streams, indigenous peoples or the local economy. Moreover, logging must be limited to a pace that allows a forest to replenish itself over the years--a practice called sustainable forestry. Since being formed in 1993, the Mexico-based FSC has certified 25 million acres of forest worldwide...
...National Audubon Society asks that people help birds help themselves by drinking shade-grown coffee. The practice of razing the rainforest to grow coffee in full sun destroys the habitat for many migratory songbirds. Traditional shade-growing preserves the habitat for these birds. Not surprisingly, the Audubon Society sells shade-grown java beans called Cafe Audubon (say it with a French accent). Next time in Starbucks, order an "organic shade-grown skim latte." Do it for the birds...
...stop selling products made from old-growth wood. The environmentalists threaten to follow up with newspaper ads, frequent pickets and civil disobedience at selected stores around the U.S.--unless the company agrees. "Home Depot is the biggest old-growth retailer in the world," says Randall Hayes, president of the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), a leader of the campaign. "Stopping them from selling old growth is the most important thing we can do to save these ancient cathedral forests and these 2,000-year-old trees." Only 22% of the world's old-growth forests remain intact, mostly in Brazil, Canada...