I just read an article on the environmental makeover of 2 families, with Matthew Modine and actress Laurie David, who are both staunch eco-activists, teaching them how they can be more earth-friendly. When Laurie tells "her" family about saving paper, "When you see paper, think of a tree," a more accurate and powerful way to think about it is, "when you see paper, think of a tree; think of a gorilla or chimp."
It is the logging industry devastating the Congo rain forests which is largely responsible for the decimation of tens of thousands of animals, including elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees and monkeys. The animals are eaten for "bushmeat." Altogether, almost 90 million cubic meters of wood per year are removed from the forests of Central Africa and shipped to other continents.
This is due to:
- The animals' habitat is destroyed
- Logging roads penetrate deep into the forest making it easy for hunting
- Thousands of men on the crew are fed most economically and conveniently by the hiring of hunters with sophisticated weapons (provided by the logging companies), who kill the animals. That's why CWAF exists - the Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund - where orphaned primates - the lucky ones - end up when their parents are killed and eaten.
So, think about it the next time you trash a kilo of wasted printer paper, or grab a gob of paper napkins at Pret a Manger, or toss 5 paper cups a day instead of a mug....save a tree, save a gorilla.
