From action.RAN.org

Wood is something we all use in our daily lives. Wood gets made into things like paper products, furniture, buildings, pencils, rayon fabric, photographic film, and even food additives that end up in cheeses, cake mixes, and ice cream! Much of the wood we use for these products comes from very old trees that live in ancient rainforests. These ancient, or old growth, rainforests have been standing for hundreds and even thousands of years. They are home to millions of types of animals, plants, insects-and even people! When old growth forests get logged to make wood products for us to use, many animal species lose their home, or habitat. Sometimes these animal species become extinct, which means they disappear forever like the dinosaurs. Many native or indigenous peoples also lose their land where their families have lived for thousands of years.

Some logging companies say that they replant the trees they cut. While planting trees is always a good thing to do, we must remember that planting trees in an area that's been clearcut (this means that almost every single tree in the area was cut down) is not the same as planting a forest. A forest is much more than just the trees it contains. While it is possible for a company to replant trees, it is impossible for the company to replant an ancient forest full of all the plants, animals, insects, and people that once lived there.

Since cutting down trees for wood is one of the main reasons old growth forests around the world are being destroyed, we must find ways to use less wood products in our daily lives. There are many easy things we can do to help.

First, since half of all the trees on the planet get cut down to make paper, using less paper is a great way to help save our ancient forests.

• Write on both sides of every piece of paper, and try to use scratch paper or half-sheets whenever possible. Recycle paper when you are finished with it.

• Put a cloth napkin in your backpack, purse, or lunch pail and use it instead of paper napkins.

• Take a canvas bag to the grocery store instead of using paper bags.

• Use cloth towels at home to clean up spills instead of paper towels, and use real cups and plates instead of paper ones. Paper plates and cups may be easy to use, but they are very bad for the rainforests!

Second, when purchasing paper at the store, try to buy 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Post-consumer means "after it's been used by someone." That means it's made from the papers we've already used and put into the recycling bin.

Better yet, whenever possible, buy 100% tree-free paper. Tree-free paper means not a single tree was cut down to make that paper! Tree-free paper can be made from plants like kenaf, hemp, bamboo, cotton, flax, banana stalks, and even something called bagasse, which is another word for sugar cane. Tree-free paper can also be made from farmers' leftovers like corn stalks and wheat straw. Normally, farmers burn or bury these leftovers. Instead, they can sell them to factories that will make great tree-free paper from this agricultural waste.

Tree-free paper can be hard to find at first. Your parents or teachers may need to call special companies to order it, but the extra effort is worth it! You can start by calling Vision Paper at (505) 294-0293 to see if there are any stores in your area that sell tree-free paper.

A third way to help save the ancient forests from being logged is to ask your parents not to buy any wood from endangered trees. Mahogany, which comes from the Amazon rainforest, and lauan, which comes from rainforests in Southeast Asia, are two kinds of wood that, although beautiful, come from trees that are quickly disappearing from our forests. Other kinds of wood that come from rainforests include teak, ebony, rosewood, and zebrawood. If we stop buying these types of woods, then there will be no reason for people to log them. We have the power to save old growth forests by choosing not to buy wood products that come from them.

A fourth way we can use less wood is to build our homes out of things besides wood. Beautiful, inexpensive, earth-friendly homes can be built out of adobe-sun-dried bricks of earth-or out of bundles of straw, called straw bales. Earth has been used for thousands of years to build homes, and it is a very good, easy-to-find material to use. You can use the earth right off the land you want to build on! This kind of building is called earth architecture.

The fifth thing you can do is write to Weyerhaeuser. Weyerhaeuser is logging and selling wood and paper products from some of the world’s rarest and most endangered old growth forests. For example, Weyerhaeuser sells wood products that come from the tropical rainforests of Indonesia and throughout Southeast Asia. Please write to Weyerhaeuser and ask them to stop destroying old growth forests around the world.

Write to: Mr. Steven R. Rogel, CEO Weyerhaeuser CH 5-1, Box 9777 Federal Way, WA 98063