John Muir (1838-1914), the great American naturalist, said that “the forests of America, despised as they are by man, must have been a great delight to God, for they were the best that He ever planted.” Well, today only less than 5% of these great American forests remain. Sadly, it’s not just America’s forests that have disappeared at such enormous rates, but forests around the world are disappearing at an alarming rate.
The biggest excuse or justification for cutting down these mighty forests has always been the “greatest good of humanity.” Ironically, the greatest good for humanity, be it urbanization, industrial pulping, or commercial logging, is not really as beneficial to humanity as its advocates tout. A 1995 US Forest Service study showed that there are many more rural jobs and income opportunities when forests are preserved. This is also reflected in the numerous opinion polls in which 70% to 80% of Americans have consistently expressed a desire to save the national forests from commercial logging and development. Americans of all ages, cultural backgrounds, and lifestyles have expressed a preference for the spiritual, social, and environmental values of forests over the commercial and dollar values of this natural resource.
Recently, there was a small uproar of frustration and dismay on the part of many Co-Op America Business Network members, over the loss of a grove that was cleared in an East Coast city to make room for a commercial parking lot. Every day, people on Internet business forums talk about their desire to save natural trees, forests, and groves marked for development. If you take a trip to Yosemite National Park, Big Tree Park in California, or any of the many national forests in any part of the country, you will be filled with awe and inspiration evoked by the grandeur of nature and the dominion given to mankind over Las Earth’s natural creations. When visiting Yosemite National Park, many times, this writer is amazed and humbled as to how humanity has been given the stewardship of mighty nature, its land, its trees and crystal clear waters to ensure the ecological process. of the planet Earth.
Forests, whether they are groves or a variety of larger forest systems, provide a variety of natural services, from cleaning water, purifying air, metabolizing carbon dioxide, to releasing breathable oxygen. Our national forests play a vital role in reducing global warming. From providing a natural habitat for animal and plant species to improving rainfall, on the one hand, and restricting land erosion by water, on the other.
There are many high-profile environmental groups and nonprofit organizations that are engaged in efforts to preserve America’s national forests and protect forests in other parts of the world. One such group that is slowly but steadily raising public awareness of environmental issues is relatively less well known but highly committed to sustainability goals. This group is made up of a new generation of entrepreneurs dedicated to “ecological fashion”, renewable and natural products. Many of these companies use recycled packaging which, in turn, helps reduce the use of new corrugated boxes and therefore saves the trees.
Although this is a long shot, but every little effort helps. Some of these “green companies” are also introducing the use of organic cotton, bamboo, hemp, jute and other fabrics in their clothing designs. These sources of natural fibers and rayon are considered earth friendly as they offer many benefits to the soil in which they are grown as well as the surrounding environment. Some of these so-called green companies are offering “tree dedication” incentives to their customers and encouraging consumers to participate indirectly in the forest conservation process. In general, this segment of companies dealing with natural products and natural and ecological fashion clothing is doing a great job of creating and raising public awareness about one of the most precious and valuable natural resources: forests. This is very encouraging as consumers can use their purchasing power to influence more companies to adopt green practices and ultimately our world, as well as all living things on the planet, can benefit from a sustainable lifestyle. I’ll try to further discuss how by supporting some of the consumer products we can all play a part in preserving America’s national forests and wildlife habitats around the world.