Rainforest
 
What Can You Do to Help Save the Tropical Rainforest?
  
Preserving tropical rainforests involves more than just deciding not to cut trees. Social, political and economic factors all need to be taken into consideration. The following are some suggestions about how you can contribute to the solution.
  • Learn more about tropical rainforests and the plants and animals, including people, which live there. Investigate the complex issues surrounding deforestation and possible solutions through further reading.

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  • Write letters to your congressional representatives or your local paper to express concern about the destruction of the tropical rainforests. The more you know about the topic and issues, the more specific you can be in suggesting actions you would like your elected officials to take.

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  • Visit tropical countries to see the rainforest. Gaining firsthand experience is one of the best ways to develop a an understanding of and commitment to an issue.

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  • Work to protect tropical rainforests and their indigenous peoples.

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  • Think globally and act locally. Practices at home, like the ones listed below, can have an impact on the preservation of rainforests.

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    • Recycling aluminum cans reduces the need for bauxite, which must be mined from the ground in tropical countries. Bauxite is the source of aluminum.

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    • Buy only pets which were captive bred here in the United States. Those which were not bred here may have been taken from the wild and imported illegally from tropical countries.

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    • When purchasing tropical woods for furniture or construction, investigate the source of the wood to determine whether it was grown in a sustainable manner.
In all things you do, practice the environmentally sound use and reuse of our resources. This will not only have a positive impact on the tropical rainforest but on all the ecosystems of the world.
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