by Kim Henderson

It’s April—and the Northern hemisphere is experiencing the delight of waxing daylight and warmer temperatures—the joy of spring. It’s also the month that our big blue planet receives some much-needed focus and attention on Earth Day, April 22, and Arbor day, April 28. While eco-friendly celebrations abound, contemplating the state of our planet can be sobering, if not downright depressing.

Tropical rainforests, sometimes called the lungs of our planet, once occupied 12 percent of the earth’s landmass, but now cover less than five percent. Despite attempts at environmental policy-making and the concerted efforts of conservation groups, we continue to lose more than 80,000 acres of tropical rainforest daily. At current rates, experts believe most of our tropical forest cover will be gone within 50 years. Considering that these hotspots of biodiversity perform a critical function in the planet’s precipitation patterns and hold more than half of our plant and animal species, they truly need our attention now.

The question is, what can we do as individuals to stop the relentless deforestation?

I asked myself this very question in 2008, when my job took me to the Children’s Eternal Rainforest in Costa Rica. The rugged magnificence of the untamable rainforest stirred a primal connection to my ancestral roots that I found both humbling and comforting. It required me to respect its ways, to learn and to listen, and I left with resolve to do what I could to support those working on the frontlines against massive commercial and often political interests to help preserve this natural marvel.

I quickly discovered that many of us westerners are unwittingly contributing to tropical deforestation with our everyday consumer choices, be it a table made of exotic wood, a chocolate bar, palm oil in baked goods, a piece of tropical fruit or a rayon shirt. On the up side, with a little awareness, we can actually use the power in our collective consumer hands to support responsible and sustainable agricultural and resource extraction practices in the tropics that preserve and protect tropical rainforests. If consumer power can bring organic produce to Wal-Mart, we can accomplish anything we choose. Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki says, “Our personal consumer choices have ecological, social and spiritual consequences. It is time to reexamine some of our deeply held notions that underlie our lifestyles.”

So this month, in honor of Earth Day be brave, be a leader and be willing to do something a little different for the good of our tropical rainforests with your lifestyle choices. Start with simple steps and make changes slowly and gradually.

Avoid Palm Oil
Palm oil is the most-traded plant oil in the world and is a common ingredient in confections, baked goods, personal care products, cleaning products and biofuels. The problem is that the top exporters, Indonesia and Malaysia, have replaced vast amounts of tropical forest to establish palm oil plantations, releasing gargantuan amounts of carbon into the atmosphere in the process. In fact, Indonesia is one of the world’s largest carbon emitters due to its deforestation. Avoid products with palm oil or choose products made with organic palm oil instead. Most organic palm oil sources employ better environmental practices. If one of your favorite products is made with palm oil, contact the manufacturer and express your concern about tropical deforestation.

Eat Brazil Nuts
Brazil nut trees only flower and bear fruit in forested areas of the Amazon rainforest. Efforts to cultivate them on plantations have largely failed. Unlike other resources, Brazil nuts can be sustainably extracted—and they provide much-needed revenue to many communities within the Amazon. A robust Brazil nut trade both encourages maintenance of intact rainforest and gives locals a way to make an income without harming the rainforest. Brazil nuts are not just delicious, but also quite nutritious—they are a complete protein and high in selenium and essential fatty acids. You can add them to your morning cereal or baked goods, or roast them and add to salads or pasta. This is truly an easy way to help the Amazon.

Say No to “Dirty Gold”
Gold mining has the distinction of being one of the most destructive industries in the world, particularly in tropical areas such as Ghana, the Amazon, the Philippines, West Papua and Papua New Guinea, where both large- and small-scale mining outfits have cleared extensive amounts of vegetation and forest to access minerals below. The large mines require roads to open up more isolated areas to miners who further destroy the rainforest with destructive activities, and who sometimes spread disease to indigenous populations. Even more destructive is the release of toxic chemicals, such as mercury and cyanide, used in the process of gold extraction. Yet, gold has no traceability. The industry that supplies gold to retailers is widely dispersed, with many refineries purchasing the metal from mines around the world—often melting the different sources together before shipping to manufacturers or banks. You can help tropical rainforests by choosing to purchase only recycled gold or vintage gold jewelry and by avoiding gold investments. Some retailers have partnered with Earthworks and are now acquiring “sustainable” gold from a U.S. mine. Visit Earthwork’s websites www.nodirtygold.org or www.earthworks.org to learn more.

Kim Henderson is the author of 50 Simples Steps to Save the World’s Rainforests (Freedom Press, 2012). Follow her on Twitter @50stepsrainfrst or on Facebook.

❋❋ If you liked this story you might also enjoy . . . ❋❋
~ Film: Force of Nature—The David Suzuki Movie
~ Film: Pipe Dreams—What’s wrong with the Keystone Pipeline
~ After the Tsunami
~ We Love Our Trees

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