รู้จักใช้ทรัพยากรธรรมชาติอย่างคุ้มค่า เมื่อนำมาใช้ต้องรู้จักการทดแทน อย่างเช่นทรพยากรป่าไม้ และ การลดการใช้พลังงานไฟฟ้า เพราการสร้างกระแสไฟฟ้าต้องใช้พลังงานน้ำ เราต้องทำลายป่าจำนวนมากเพราะต้องใช้พื้นที่สร้างเขื่น และในปัจจุบันมีจำนวนประชากรใช้ไฟฟ้ามากขึ้น ทำให้ต้องสร้างกระแสไฟฟ้ามาก เราควรลดใช้ไฟฟ้ากันเพือลดการทำลายป่า
Ten Ways to Preserve Our Forests
First published in Corporate Knights, 2005
"At first I thought I was fighting to save the rubber trees; then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest. Now I realize I am fighting for humanity."
- Chico Mendes, 1944-1988
1. Protect More Ancient Forests
Eight thousand years ago, large areas of the world were covered with ancient forest. As we started to farm, we cut them down for firewood, to build houses, and then to make ships, and charcoal for our growing industries. Today, as the world’s demand for timber and paper continues to grow, almost 80% of the original ancient forests have been logged or degraded, and we are losing an additional 13 million hectares a year, an area the size of Greece. As we lose the forest, we also lose the habitat for many species, including human tribes. We must do whatever we can to protect the remaining ancient forest, both worldwide, and in Canada.
See www.globalforestwatch.org and www.caribounation.org
2. Use Ecoforestry in All Secondary Forests
In Switzerland, they banned clearcut logging centuries ago, when they recognized how it destroyed the soil. Here in Canada, however, clearcutting is still practiced quite widely. In 73 countries around the world, including Canada, a new standard of socially responsible, ecologically sensitive forestry is being embraced by some companies, landowners, and First Nations that protects the forests while their trees are being harvested, and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). With good ecoforestry, the forest will yield more timber of higher commercial value over the long term, while protecting the forest’s ecosystem.
See www.fsc.org
3. Support Canada’s National Forest Strategy
Canada has a roadmap which can hopefully guide our country’s forestry policies, research, and logging practices towards progressive, ecosystem-based forest management. It is called the National Forest Strategy, and has been developed in true Canadian style with input from many stakeholders, including the provinces, environmental groups, and First Nations. Every five years, it is updated and renewed. It has a brand new “best practices” section, most of which happen to have been FSC certified.
See http://nfsc.forest.ca and www.sierraclub.ca/national/programs/biodiversity/forests
4. Ban the Import of Illegally Logged Timber
For every mahogany tree in the tropics that is found and illegally cut down, a bulldozer smashes its way through 60 other trees, all for that lovely shine that looks so good on the furniture when the guests come to visit. Greenpeace estimates that 90% of the timber produced in the Amazon is of illegal origin, fuelled by bribes, corruption, and intimidation. The World Bank estimates that the global trade in illegal timber is worth $15 billion a year, with the US as the largest consumer, spending $3.8 billion a year. One of the solutions is to develop strong federal legislation, banning its import, to discourage illegal logging in forest areas where timber harvesting is strictly prohibited.
See www.illegal-logging.info
5. Use Less Paper and Wood
If you buy it, they will log. The more we buy, the more they log. To reduce our demand, we can avoid using paper napkins, plates, cups, and bags. We can buy paper made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper, or from hemp, and be sure to recycle all our waste paper. We can try to buy FSC certified wood when we need timber, or seek out recycled lumber from house deconstructions. We can remember that wood and paper are not just “stuff”: they are made from the living fabric of our planet, home to a myriad creatures. 11% of the lumber that is cut each year in the US is used to make 400 million wooden pallets, that end up in bonfires or in the landfill. That much timber could build 300,000 houses. We should ban all wood waste from our landfills, and encourage the careful deconstruction of unwanted houses, instead of demolition.
See www.rfu.org/cp/saving.html
6. Eat Less Beef
North America’s insistent demand for hamburgers, steak, and dog food sends a very clear message to the farmers of Central America, and Brazil, who clear the forest to make way for their cattle ranches. In Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, for every cow, 2.5 acres of forest disappear; for every quarter pound hamburger from a cleared rainforest, fifty-five square feet of rainforest is destroyed. A vegan, who eats no meat, fish, or dairy products, needs 1/6th of an acre for his or her annual food needs. A vegetarian needs half an acre. A meat-eater needs three acres, and increasingly, some of this comes from cleared rainforests. We can scoff our steaks, or