Rainforest Action Network and Awardee Naomi Klein REVEL, Primary Rainforests Continue to Be Destroyed in Their Names
WWH – October 12 , 2011
Earth’s Newsdesk & Rainforest Portal, projects of Ecological Internet
http://www.ecoearth.info/
Contact: Dr. Glen Barry, Ecological Internet, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.
(Earth) – Today San Francisco based Rainforest Action Network (RAN) will throw yet another swanky celebrity filled party to REVEL and congratulate themselves for logging primary forests to protect them, and to raise further money for such “rainforest protection”. RAN continues to hold to the myth that primary rainforests – 500 year old trees in millions of year old ecosystems – should be “sustainably managed” for consumption such as toilet paper and lawn furniture. Noted author Naomi Klein will be RAN’s guest of honor, receive an award, and has been vocal in defending the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) brand of disaster capitalism.
RAN is one of biggest threats to world’s rainforests and inhabitants because of their founding and support of FSC’s massive primary forest logging over an area estimated at the size of South Africa. RAN holds out first time industrial logging of primary and other old forests as a solution to rainforest loss. RAN’s campaign against Disney promotes the use of FSC “certified” paper from first time industrial primary rainforest logging in Indonesia for their paper supply. THERE IS another option – learning to live without old forest timbers.
“There is no such thing as ‘Ethical Primary Forest Timbers’, and this isn’t some minor difference of opinion over tactics,” explains Ecological Internet’s President Dr. Glen Barry. “The issue is whether enough old forests and other intact terrestrial ecosystems exist to proven the collapse of our shared biosphere. Even FSC which is supposedly the best murderer of old forests gets 60% of their timber and fibers by destroying primary forests. And whether green NGOs collecting money for rainforest protection should support and benefit from primary rainforest logging. Without access to old forests and RAN greenwash, FSC would fall apart.”
Ecological Internet’s campaign to get big NGOs (BINGOs) out of the business of supporting primary rainforest and other old forest logging has been going on for 3 years, starting during RAN’s 2008 REVEL. After negotiations with RAN’s management broke down on two occasions, Ecological Internet and tens of thousands of other have protested RAN on nearly a dozen occasions. Promises have been made and broken by RAN to evaluate their FSC affiliation. RAN claims to be changing FSC from within, but there has never been any proof of this. Sadly the once proud RAN has resorted to censorship, character libel, and stonewalling to hide their treacherous forest destruction.
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Large connected expanses of primary rainforests – and other intact old forests and ecosystems of all types – are required to sustain global ecology, minimize abrupt climate change, and provide for continued local community advancement from standing old forests. Best scientific estimates are that large, natural, fully operational ecosystems across at least half of Earth’s surface, water and oceans are required for Earth’s biosphere, all species, and the human family’s survival.
It is ironic this year’s RAN rainforest awardee – anti-corporate author Naomi Klein, who popularized the expression disaster capitalism – supports RAN and FSC’s forest destruction. FSC’s current prying open of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s rainforests for first time primary forest logging is disaster capitalism at its worse. It is troubling Ms. Klein in her apologist writings for RAN’s greenwash can envision a world without oil, tar sands, corporations, and capitalism; but not one without cutting 500 year old trees in millions of year old ecosystems for toilet paper and other consumption.
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For more information:
Greenpeace and RAN Out of FSC Primary Forest Logging Now!
http://www.facebook.com/
