| The Ride for the Rainforest The FAQ Page Frequently Asked Questions about THE RIDE FOR THE RAINFOREST Why are you doing this? The rainforest needs support…and we need the rainforest. It is our lung. It provides the oxygen we breathe and stores the carbon we emit into the atmosphere as CO2. It can help us avoid some of the more disastrous effects of global warming. Why can't we just harvest the rainforest? We'll change the rainforest if we harvest it. Can't we selectively remove trees and sell the lumber to support the people of the rainforest? Removing trees before their time changes the rainforest. When trees die, there is no hole in the canopy because other trees have taken their place. But when a lumber company removes the tree, an instant hole to the sky appears. Species run from the sun and the space changes. How do you propose bringing income to the people of the rainforest? The forest can be a source of eco-tourism dollars; but to bring lasting benefits, tourism must be linked with sustainable development industries that significantly benefit local communities. Agricultural products can be extracted; but this succeeds only if the products are properly farmed and not taken from the wild. Most importantly, laboratory research centers, set up in the forest (not in the city), can identify medicinal products for export and establish sustainable industries for locals. 70% of all cancer curing plants are in rainforests. GAI and its local cooperatives make them available to the world. In this way, local people thrive if the forest survives; preserving it produces more income than cutting it down. Learn about CAMU-CAMU and the CENTER FOR NATURAL MEDICINE. SO what should concerned consumers do in the Industrialized North? What should we buy? This question is typical of a consumer-based economy. Before asking "what can we buy?" we need to ask "what structural changes need to take place in rainforest nations and the global economy in general, and how can our government support those changes?" However, since we are consumers first, patriots second, and citizens of the world third, let's deal with the buying issue... Always ask if the products you buy (wood products, pharmaceuticals, etc.) come from rainforests. If they do, ask if they carry a “green label.” If they don’t, don’t buy them! A similar, “green” product will be easy to find. For a list of these products, go to: Care2.com What structural changes need to take place in rainforest nations and how can our government support those changes? Generally, most efforts to help the people and ecosystem of the rainforest have led to further destruction. Better communication was thought to be needed to connect the forest to the world economy. Unfortunately, improved transportation and communication has led to increased deforestation and destruction of entire ecosystems through slash and burn agriculture. Bringing free trade zones to Manaus, Iquitos, and other Amazonian centers was thought to improve the lot of the people by bringing jobs. However, most of the jobs are low-wage and repetitive. The salaries are largely consumed in the cities and the people in the forest do not benefit. The distractions of industrialized western culture and the "more-more-more" attitudes of consumer society lead to a change in the attitudes of the people who live in the forest. Rather than looking for ways to preserve traditions (and the forest), everything is questioned and the old ways are abandoned. GAl proposes that governments should fund, with private industry, the creation of co-operatives to support balanced methods of sustainably extracting resources from the rainforest. (And then government and industry should step aside and let the co-op work...) Export of plants appears to be the most sustainable activity at present, and the Ride for the Rainforest will raise the funds to support this sustainable commerce. GAI and other non-profit organizations can produce the working models with which governments and the private sector can assume a more effective role in preparing for a sustainable future. If you want to save rainforests for the next generation, support GAl. For more information contact us at ride4rainforest@lycos.com. Visit GAI: www.gaiglobal.org |