wanderlust in my veins

From Roots to Canopies: In the Healing Arms of the World’s Forests

John Muir once said, “The clearest way to the universe is through a forest wilderness.” It is quite fitting really, for the woods have, since the beginning of time, provided us with everything from food and clothing to clean air. Day in and day out, sometimes without our knowing it, we use something which has roots that can be traced back to a forest somewhere. Claims by indigenous tribes of the forests’ magic and connection to all life in the world don’t seem so far off when you think about it.

For all its influence in mankind’s existence, you could say that the forests are nature’s form of public service. One contribution, in particular, has shaped man’s way of life.

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“Before I die they have to pay me for the dead animals, and for what they did to the river, and the water and the earth.” - Ecuadorian on Chevron’s crimes

Indigenous Ecuadorian Grandmother Humbles US Oil Giant

She has no legal training, and doesn’t speak the Spanish that dominates government in Quito but indigenous villager Maria Aguinda helped bring a landmark judgment against US oil giant Chevron for polluting the rain forest she calls home.

The diminutive grandmother whose modest home sits near marshes clogged for decades in sticky oil has been at the heart of the David-and-Goliath case, and spoke out after Chevron was slapped last week with a $9.5-billion fine, among the heaviest ever handed down for environmental damage.

A community triumphs over greedy polluting corporations. To read the rest of the article, click here or the link above.

youandusandme:

While years of endeavors to stem tropical deforestation have yielded only mixed results, it’s clear forests play a key role in sustainable livelihoods and tackling climate change.

The United Nations has dedicated 2011 as Year of Forests to raise awareness on the sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests. The opening of Forests 2011 took place this week at the 9^th meeting of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) in New York. The UNFF provides the space for countries to discuss and strengthen their long-term political commitments on the conservation and sustainable development to forests.

Groups call on KFC to end greenwashing

news.mongabay.com - A coalition of environmental groups is calling on KFC to end its use of products with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) label.

The coalition says the SFI is a greenwashing initiative by forestry companies that are unwilling to meet the environmental criteria set by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a certification system which the groups say is “broadly endorsed by environmental and science-based organizations.”

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