megan

Protecting Our Rainforests

Around the year 1960, there was a child suffering from leukemia facing a one in
five chance of surviving his illness. Thanks to two powerful drugs prepared from
bio-compounds found in a tropical rainforest plant, the rosy periwinkle, this child who
was suffering now has his chances of survival increased to four in five (Myer, 8). There
are at least another fourteen hundred different kind of plants from the tropical rainforests
that contain principal components against cancer (8). At the present time, cancer is the
second leading case of death for American adults; it is projected to be the number one
cause of early death in the next century (Wardlaw, 289). Knowing that there are
principals active against cancer found in the rainforests, you can understand how vital our
rainforests are and how much longer our rainforests survival becomes critical to our very
existence.

According to statistics, rainforests are depleting at a rapid rate between
twenty-four thousand and thirty thousand square miles cleared every year (Nations, 94).
Humans are destroying between twenty-eight and thirty-five acres every minute-day and
night (94). Tropical rainforests once took up about six and a half million square miles of
the earth's land and now the territory has been reduced to only three and a half million
square miles (94). We have taken advantage of our rainforests by profiting from jobs,
wood products, and even recreation. As a result, we have taken more from our rainforests
than they have to give. Now is the time to take a stand and formulate a plan to save our rainforests. I De Tour 2have three proposals to start the reversal of the deforestation of our rainforests.

I propose that we contact our legislators to pass a new tax on all wood products,
no matter where they come from, and use the money to buy rainforest land. I also
propose that we inform people by discussing the endangered rainforests on the national
and local news so that people become aware of how serious the problem really is. There
should also be programs introduced into our educational curriculum teaching children as
early as kindergarten about the importance of the rainforests to our existence. Then the
children will grow up into responsible adults that care for our delicate rainforests.
The demand for paper products been increasing more and more every year.
Statistics show that the demand for paper products has increased as much as twice the
population growth (Myer, 102). "In the United States, more than sixty percent of lumber
and seventy-five percent of plywood goes to build and remodel homes and offices"
(Zuckerman, 87). With such a high demand for in the wood production we need to put a
tax on this wood usage for the benefit of the rainforests. We need to form groups that
will petition the voters to get legislation on the ballot to pass new laws to protect the
rainforests from deforestation. These groups will also contact legislators lobbying to
create a new tax on all wood products sold. The tax money will be managed by an
organization that will use the funds to purchase rainforest land. They will ensure the
future of our rainforests. By putting a tax on the demand for wood products, that being
De Tour 3 negative, we reach something positive by buying acres of rainforest to protect and
preserve them. This is very simple procedure that will help to save our earth and increase
the quality of life in the future.

However, there is a lot of opposition to increasing taxes of any kind. There is
pressure to reduce taxes across the country. A good example of this is the Boston Tea
Party, where the British government put a tax on tea and the people revolted by dumping
the tea into the Boston Harbor on December16, 1773 (Adams, 44). People do not want to
pay taxes and they haven't since 1773, as you can see with what happened in the Boston
Tea Party, and even further back then that.

Why would people want to pay a tax on the rainforests protection when even in
1773 they would not pay a tax on tea? Because our rainforests survival is our earth's
survival and our earth's survival is our survival. This is a matter of life and death, a tax
on wood products should be the least the people can do to save our earth. Sammuel
Johnson, a British writer in the 1700s wrote: "The supreme power of every community
has the right of requiring from all its subjects such contributions as are necessary to the
public safety or public property" (Adams,6). Johnson writes that taxes are used for
services that provide safety to the public. The public needs to understand that this tax can
save our earth's life which will improve ours. "Each American family spends almost one
hundred dollars per year on flowers and potted plants" (Myer, 326). It is obvious that the
extra few dollars each year towards the protection of tropical rainforests would not De Tour 4 bankrupt them. In fact, it should increase the quality of their lives and decrease their
living expenses. The problem is not that we can't afford it but becomes, "How can we not
afford it" (326-327)?

The news is an important part of everyone's life. It not only informs the public
but it educates them concerning recent events and items of the general public. The news
comes to us on the television. It is a universal tool for getting information out. We need
to have time made available for educational programs on television addressing the
seriousness of the deforestation of the rainforests and showing the importance in
protecting and maintaining them. It is amazing how many people are not even aware of
the rainforests and yet use rainforests products everyday (Mitchel,15). Even though we
didn't grow up knowing how important they are, we can learn more about them so our
earth can continue to live. Television is a universal way to get information out, as most
people do watch the news on television. They should run frequent time slots on the news
and tell interesting information concerning the rainforests that most people are unaware
of. Also, they could request questions from the viewers to be answered on the air. We
need to go to the national news and request a set time slot each week to inform the public
about the importance of the rainforests. It will be necessary to show them how directly
the rainforest affects our lives each day so that it is of national importance. Also, we
should seek time on the public broadcasting stations to have a series of shows concerning
the importance of preserving the rainforests. They will get funds from companies that want
to De Tour 5 have advertisements aired during their show.

Although there is some opposition to adding educational programs of the
rainforests on the news. Time on the news is valuable and expensive. Suppose Sixty
Minutes advertises for you on a Sunday and this would be an fifteen minute feature for
your business or whatever you would be advertising, this would cost you $500,000 for
half a minute (Parkhurst, 10)! Can you imagine what it would cost for a whole segment!
This is an outrageous amount of money you might say but if we get funds from
companies that want advertisements on during the aired program concerning the
rainfoerest we will have no problem with this dilemma. "Publicity time, however, has a
value beyond published advertising rates, because you are a part of the programming and
not just an excuse to run to the refrigerator for a snack" (10). Time on the news is
valuable and people believe that producers and editors are too busy to take telephone calls
and their ideas are just a waste of time (11). It is not a waste for people to call the editors
and request time for information regarding the rainforests, after all the rainforests are the
key to our earth's happiness as well as healthiness. "Tens of millions of dollars' worth of
media exposure is given away in this country everyday" (10). Wouldn't it be nice to see
the rainforests be apart of that "tens of millions" worth of media exposure given away,
and to watch interesting facts about the rainforests appear on the news?
Children are the most importance part of our society. After all, they are the ones
who will run our nation when we grow old. Our children need to have the knowledge to
De Tour 6 run the country and protect our quality of life. We need to contact the National Education Board and develop a program that will teach the impertinence of the rainforests. This is
as important as learning to read or do math. If the rainforests are not treated with respect
and maintained, the quality of life in the future will be reduced. If children grow up with
a love and understanding for the rainforests, they will preserve and protect them. The
program can be started as early as kindergarten. It is very interesting to see how
connected we are to the rainforests in our everyday lives. They can go on field trips and
have benefits to raise money to save the rainforests.

Many educators will oppose adding studies concerning rainforests into their
curriculum. "Educators know what to teach your child at what age in a way that
promotes understanding and retention," says Dr. Kenneth Shore (Shore,17). That
thinking is very narrow minded. How do they know what is important to teach when
most of the people in the country have grown up not realizing the importance of the
rainforest in their every day lives. "Kindergarten is a landmark event in their lives, one
that promises many changes" (77). By starting this in Kindergarten it will plant the seed
that will grow and develop as the children do. We must take the time to educate our
children about saving the rainforest to insure the future of the earth so that their quality of
life will improve.

The fate of our earth's rainforests is being decided during the decades that we are
now living in. Whether or not these forests live or die depends upon the actions taken
De Tour 7 during the next fifty years (Nations,111-120). Action is needed at all levels, and no effort is too small. If we put a tax on the wood products now, by the year 2050 we could
purchase the whole rainforests so that they would be protected against any future damage.
If we begin the education of children in kindergarten as to the importance of the
rainforest, they will grow up to respect and properly care for them. The national news
will keep the public continually educated concerning the importance of the rainforests
and people will be willing to pay the tax on wood products to help preserve the
rainforests and their future. By taking the time now to educate and promote funding for
the protection of the rainforests, we will ensure that we will live longer and healthier lives
with the help of our rainforests.
De Tour 8

De Tour 8

Works Cited

Adams, Charles Those Dirty Rotton Taxes. The Free Press: New York 1998

Mitchell, Andrew Vanishing Paradise The Tropical Rainforest. The Overlook Press:
New York 1988

Myers, Norman The Primary Source Tropical Froests and Our Future. Synergisms Ltd.:
Ontario 1984

Nations, James D. Tropical Rainforest Endangered Environment. Franklin Watts: New
York 1988

Parkhurst, William How to Get Publicity. Times Books: New York 1985

Shore, Dr. Kenneth The Parents' Public School Handbook. Fireside: New York 1994

Wardlaw, Gordon M. Contemporary Nutrition Issue and Insights. Brown &Benchmark:
Iowa 1997

Vandermeer, John and Ivette Perfecto Breakfast of Biodiversity The Truth About Rain
Forest Destruction. Institute for Food and Development Policy: California 1995

Zuckerman, Seth Saving Our Ancient Rainforests. Living Planet Press: California 1991