Day 5 of 31 - Remember the Rainforest

Remember the Rainforest while making your purchases -

It only takes a minute to help save the world’s rainforests. Watch this video for tips from The Rainforest Alliance.

Make Sting Proud - Adopt an Acre of Rainforest!

When I was growing up, campaigns to help protect the rainforest were everywhere. Every other report seemed to be about the depletion of the rainforest or our ozone layer, but these days, I don't hear as much about this anymore. Turns out though, the threats that faced the rainforest all those years ago are still there; we just don't talk about them as much. Except for Sting, who is the Bono of the rainforest.

Last year, we teamed up with The Rainforest Alliance on videos to help these precious ecosystems. They feature various kid-friendly programs on their site. They have online games that will educate you and your little one on how goods like bananas, chocolate and coffee get on your plate. You can also find coloring book pages and fact sheets that can help your mini-me's get passionate about protecting these resources.

I, however, opted to adopt an acre of rainforest as part of my challenge. Through Adopt-A-Rainforest, you can contribute funding to small conservation groups in tropical countries that work to stop rainforest destruction. Donations to the Adopt-A-Rainforest projects support the purchase and sustainable management of tropical forest lands. Pretty cool. I could choose to support a particular project in a country of interest, or ask the Rainforest Alliance to select one in need. I'm a little indecisive and felt bad singling one out, so I broke my donation up between the 9 options.

And next time you go to the supermarket to stock up on coffee, chocolate or fruit, be sure to purchase Rainforest Alliance Certified products. You can use your buying power to help enact change. There are a lot of options out there. And believe me, they're just as delicious.

Thanks!
Alicia

An Interview with Abby Ray, Communications Associate at The Rainforest Alliance

Here is Part 2 of our interview with Abby Ray, our contact at the Rainforest Alliance.

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What would happen if all of our rainforests disappeared?
With the release of all of that CO2 into the atmosphere from cutting all of those trees, we’d see a big impact on climate change. There would be major soil erosion, waterway contamination, increased instances of malaria and increased illness. We’d lose species that currently we don’t even know exist, and we’d lose all of those precious and unique creatures that only reside in rainforests.

What is the connection between conserving the rainforest and social and economic factors?
We see sustainability as having three equally important pillars: environmental, social and economic. For many poor communities living in areas of high biodiversity, the forest is worth more cut down than it is standing. They can sell the timber and grow agricultural products, or graze cattle. If forests are to have a higher value intact, they need to provide local communities with a sustainable livelihood, and that’s where the social and economic factors come into play. Without those components, we’ll continue to see rainforest destruction and illegal logging in “preserved areas,” despite our best intentions. If communities can receive Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)/Rainforest Alliance certification for their forests, they often have better market access and can learn to responsibly manage their land so that it retains wildlife and its precious ecosystems. We have also developed a climate initiative to work on helping communities receive payment for ecosystem services – or compensating landowners for the carbon that their forests store.

What can the average person do to help conserve the rainforest?
It is up to all of us to act responsibly. You can help protect ecosystems and the people and wildlife that depend on them by holding an Adopt-A-Rainforest fundraiser, becoming a member of the Rainforest Alliance and buying responsibly produced foods, wood and paper products. You can look for the Rainforest Alliance Certified green frog seal in your local grocery stores. Take responsible vacations, and ask questions about the hotel’s social and environmental policies. We have all of these tips and more on our Green Living Tips page: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/support.cfm?id=tips.

Is there anything that you would like add?
You can watch great videos on our website for an easier way to understand what we do:The Rainforest Alliance. Also, follow us on
Twitter and Facebook .

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To find out more about the Rainforest or about the Rainforest Alliance, please visit - The Rainforest Alliance.

Certified Wood

Think there's nothing you can do to help Protect our Rainforests in 1 Minute?

Starring - Damion Fitz
Written by -  Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Statistical Information Provided by: The Rainforest Alliance, www.rainforest-alliance.org,

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Special Thanks: Abby Ray and everyone at The Rainforest Alliance, and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

10 Things to Help the Rainforest

Think there's nothing you can do to help Protect our Rainforests in 1 Minute?

Starring - Maria Christina Perry
Written by -  Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Statistical Information Provided by: The Rainforest Alliance, www.rainforest-alliance.org,

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Special Thanks: Abby Ray and everyone at The Rainforest Alliance, and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

Adopt an Acre of Rainforest

Think there's nothing you can do to help Protect our Rainforests in 1 Minute?

Starring - Abby Lynn Mulay
Written by - Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Statistical Information Provided by: The Rainforest Alliance, www.rainforest-alliance.org,

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Special Thanks: Abby Ray and everyone at The Rainforest Alliance, and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

Buy Rainforest Alliance Certified

Think there's nothing you can do to help Protect our Rainforests in 1 Minute?

Starring - Julie Tortorici
Written by -  Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Statistical Information Provided by: The Rainforest Alliance - www.rainforest-alliance.org

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Special Thanks: Abby Ray and everyone at the Rainforest Alliance, and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

An Interview with Abby Ray, Communications Associate at the Rainforest Alliance, part 1

When we asked our “What You Can Do “ fans which topics were of most concern to them, an overwhelming majority said protecting our rainforests. Thus we set off to complete a week of one minute ideas dedicated to halting the destruction of this precious resource. In the course of our research we were lucky enough to find The Rainforest Alliance whose help and expertise proved invaluable in our assembly of this week.

Here Abby Ray, our contact at The Rainforest Alliance, took the time to answer some questions for us . Please read on for Part 1 of our interview.

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Please tell us why rainforest conservation is important?
It’s important to conserve rainforests, in part, because they are often considered “the lungs of the planet,” absorbing much of the carbon dioxide that can contribute to climate change. Also, the rainforest is home to rich biodiversity, and some plants and animals only exist in the rainforest. There’s a reason why rainforests are called the “world’s largest pharmacies;” we have already developed medicines to fight cancer, diabetes and heart diseases from rainforest plants, and more cures could be found there. One-quarter of the Western medicines that we use today are derived from plants, yet less than one percent of these tropical trees and plants have been screened by scientists for pharmaceutical properties. Deforestation causes destruction of wildlife habitat and therefore loss of wildlife, the release of carbon dioxide which contributes to climate change, soil erosion, contaminated waterways and often poor health conditions for local communities.

Please tell us a little bit about the Rainforest Alliance.
The Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit organization, works with people whose livelihoods depend on the land, helping them transform the way they grow food, harvest wood and host travelers. From large multinational corporations to small, community-based cooperatives, businesses and consumers worldwide are involved in the Rainforest Alliance’s efforts to bring responsibly produced goods and services to a global marketplace where the demand for sustainability is growing steadily. We work in sustainable agriculture, forestry, tourism and climate.

How much of the rainforest is lost ever year?
Nearly half of the Earth's original forest cover has already been lost, and each year an additional 32 million acres (13 million hectares) are destroyed (a land area the size of Nicaragua or the State of Louisiana).

Why is the rainforest being destroyed?
Around the world, people are clearing land to grow crops. While people need to grow food, in many countries, there are no laws to prevent people from entering a forest, cutting it down, burning the dry vegetation, and planting seeds. Because most of a rainforest's nutrients are found in its diverse flora, the soils that support so much biodiversity are actually quite thin and poor. The farmers can grow crops in the ashes of burned forests for a few years, but eventually, the nutrient-poor soils give out, and the colonists must move farther into the forest and start over. The abandoned lands are often used by ranchers to graze livestock. On average, six acres of pastureland in the tropics are needed to feed just one cow. People who need wood for fuel also cause deforestation. When timber companies cut down valuable hardwoods in a forest in an irresponsible way, the process usually destroys all surrounding vegetation and jeopardizes the wildlife that depended on that lost vegetation. Illegal logging is also a problem. Development projects like dams, new settlements, highways and large-scale mining and petroleum projects are also leading causes of deforestation. In the Amazon, in particular, forests are being cut down to grow soy beans and acai, graze cattle and build developments. Other tropical areas face similar threats but from different crops like palm oil, sugar cane or sun-grown coffee.

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To find out more about the Rainforest or about the Rainforest Alliance, please visit - The Rainforest Alliance.