The rainforest is dying

I know that this is silly but I just found out that this is a reality. (It hit me in the heart, not the head, for once) I'm discovering a new concern for the earth and her bounty. Please give me tips to lessen the damage of our beloved wildforests.

 

Encourage the people who live there to be good stewards of their land. There are several ways to do this from simply finding reputable charities that support indigenous business's, to ecotourism to volunteer work in those areas. I made several trips with a group called Amazon Promise. http://www.amazonpromise.org/ They organize western doctors and shamans to go into deep jungle villages and provide medical care. The use of western doctors along side of shamans helps give credence back to the shamans. Missionaries did incredible harm to native people when they "converted" people because they discredited the shamans. Some of these old shamans have knowledge of thousands of medicnal plants. A great book to read is "tales of a Shamans Apprentice by Mark Plotkin. He's a Harvard trained Ethnobontanist who spents months at a time with these old medicine men. I ended up living in the jungle in Peru for a year just to absorb its beauty and glory. Learn more, the tropical rainforest is the womb of Mother Earth.

 

Fuck the rain forest... I need printer paper.

 

Actually, it is the apparent indirect goal, of the enviro-crazies, to shut down American industries, and to export more of our jobs to other countries, so we end up buying up resources we could have developed our own instead, perhaps to "rape" other countries of their resources.

That's also partly why the gasoline prices are so high. Because of eco-freaks who claim that the carabou will actually care if we develop more oil in Alaska. And yet they drive cars? Hippocrits!

Shame on the "Green Nazis" for ignoring human needs.

 

I still like how people want all that crap stopped... I take it they don't care that these people are working there to get pay to support families... Those family haters.

 

Actually, weren't many of the indians, devil worshippers, and how come they didn't have more children? There should have been more of them? Isn't it a huge myth that indians were great "environmentalists?" They burned forests to drive out animals to hunt, and they didn't develop nor invent much of anything. Maybe they were lazy and superstitious?

Thousands of medicinal plants? Huh? We can't have home remedies! Why that's probably "illegal" or something. How will the giant greedy pharmaceutical corporations then continue to rip us off, with their overpriced drugs and still-primitive medical care? (sarcasm)

"Don't leave him in the hands of 20th century medicine. They still cut and sew people like garments." Dr. McCoy "Bones" in Star Trek IV

 

The ecological vs. economic benifits of logging have been explored before. There are several examples from N. Cal and Oregon. Lumber companies will spearhead an effort to allow logging using the "Jobs are better than trees" argument. When the permitting process is over, they bring in outside workers to cut the lumber and take it away IN THE ROUND. The local lumberjacks and sawmill operators get no employment from the cutting of the local trees.

With modern lumber companies, allowing logging does not create local jobs. (OK the waitresses benifit for the short time that the out-of-town employees are there.)

Oh, BTW computer paper can be made from other plants that are less critical in their ecosystem than trees are in theirs.

 

Pronutalist, The Indians were and are, in fact, excellent stewards of the land. The slash and burn agriculture they practice involves small tracts of land that regenerate quickly. Devil worship is a christian concept of no validity whatsoever save for propaganda purposes. You christian creeps drag it out to justify the rape and plunder that continues to occur. Since you are abysimally ignorant of the native use of plant based medications I suggest you either read works by Mark Plotkin, a contemporary ethnobotantist or the book One River by Wade Davis. There are many other volumes that extoll the value of these medicines. Until you have made an attempt to educate yourself you should refrain from displaying your ignorance. The richness of Indigenous cultures has been a centuries long target of christian smear tactics. Again, until you know more about these people and cultures you should have respectful silence. Nobody is trying to shut down American Idustries, rather those peole wise enough to respect the environment are demanding change...its the "old money" wealthy who want to avoid a healthy change for fear it might cost them a bit of their obscene wealth. Have some balls, big boy, go to the jungle and try to live. If you survive, tell us if you think the indigenous people are ingenious or not. That Forest and the Amazon River are the greatest testiment to Gods glory on Earth. God's handwriting is still fresh there where greed has not erased it. Having read other postings of yours, I suspect your mind is completely closed. If it isn't, consider the salvation of your injuried soul and learn more about the forest, the river and the people who live in constant communion with their Maker.

 

To anyone interested, the latest edition of Smithsonian Magazine (March '07) has a great article regarding the rainforest. They also talk with Mark Plotkin, one of the authors I mentioned above.

 

I've been hearing about it dying for years, but when will the damn thing die?

 

About the same time people are gasping their last breath.

 

I'm invincible. I got God Mode enabled, and I'm ready to go baby!

 

thing is, the tropical rainforests provide the Earth with bout' 40% of it's oxygen..

 

I'm sure we'll think of something.

 

All joking aside, the jungle is absolutely magicical. Being there is a totally differnt experience than anything else I ever did. Every one of your senses is totally engaged and you know you are lower on the food chain there than anywhere else. Theres shit out there that wants to eat you, smells you can't imagine. Colors that look like a rainbow on acid, sounds of things you can't imagine, The air feels thick, there are all kind of things to taste. Its absolutely wild in every sense of the word and its only 5 hours by jet from Miami. And if you really want to get down with the jungle ask the shaman to mix you up a bit of Ayahuasca...then hang on.

 

But the insects are deadly

 

Some are, but it's not much of a problem with a bit of repellant. For under a $1000.00 air fare you can get to Iquitos Peru, the jumping off point for heading into the deep jungle. Google some information about the rainforest and Peru, it is flat out mindblowing ina great way. And the people there are totally cool.

 

yeah...like stop cutting down the rainforests......

 

heh. You know, I'm not the one doing that. Where are the rainforests located, anyway?

 

south america, some in africa, asia, and round' australia....new zealand and like that