John Muir (1838-1914) the great American naturalist said “the forests of America, however slighted by man, must have been a great delight to God; for they were the best He ever planted.” Well, only less than 5% of these great American forests are left today. Sadly, it is not just the American forests that have disappeared in such huge proportions but the forests all over the world are disappearing at an alarming speed.
The biggest excuse or justification to cut down these mighty forests has always been the “greater good for the mankind”. Ironically, the greater good for mankind, be it the urbanization, industrial pulp or commercial logging, is not really as beneficial to the mankind as touted by its proponents. A 1995 U.S. Forests Service study showed that there are many more rural jobs and more income opportunities when the forests are preserved. This is also reflected in the many opinion polls where 70% to 80% Americans have consistently voiced their desire to save the national forests from commercial logging and urbanization. Americans of all ages, cultural backgrounds and walks of life have expressed their preference for the spiritual, social and environmental values of the forests over the commercial & dollar values of this natural resource.
Recently, there had been a small uproar of frustration and dismay by many members of the Co-Op America Business Network, over the loss of a tree grove that was cut down in an East Coast city to make room for a commercial parking lot. Every day, people in business forums on the internet talk about their desires to save trees, woods and natural groves marked for urbanization. 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 the nature and the domain given to mankind over Earth’s natural creations. When visiting Yosemite national park, often times, this writer is left in awe and filled with humbleness as to how mankind has been given stewardship of the mighty nature, its land, its trees and sparkling waters to ensure the ecological process of the planet Earth.
Woods whether these are groves of trees or range of larger forests systems provide an array of natural services from cleaning the water, purifying the air, metabolizing the Carbon Dioxide to releasing breathable Oxygen. Our national forests play a vital role in reducing global warming. From providing natural habitat to animal and plant species to enhancing rainfall on one hand and restraining land erosion by water on the other hand.
There are many high profile environmental groups and non profit organizations that are engaged in efforts of preserving American national forests and protecting forests in other parts of the world. One such group that is slowly but steadily raising the public awareness about environmental issues is relatively lesser known but very much committed to the sustainability goals. This group is comprised of a new breed of entrepreneurs dedicated to “eco fashion”, renewable and natural products. Many of these businesses use recycled packaging that in turn helps reduce the use of new corrugated boxes thereby saving the trees. Although this is a long shot but every little bit of effort helps. Some of these “green businesses” are also introducing the use of organic cotton, bamboo, hemp, jute, and other fabrics in their clothing designs. These sources of natural and rayon fibers are considered earth friendly as they offer many benefits for the soil they are harvested on as well as for the surrounding environment. Some of these so-called green businesses are offering incentives of “tree dedications” to their customers and encouraging the consumers to indirectly participate in the forests preservation process.
All in all this segment of businesses dealing in natural products and natural & eco fashion clothing is doing a great job of creating and raising public awareness about one of the most cherished & valuable natural resource- forests. This is very encouraging indeed as the consumers can use their spending power to influence more businesses to adopt green practices and eventually our world as well as all living being on the planet can benefit from a sustainable life style. I will attempt to discuss further as to how by supporting some of the consumer products we all can participate in preservation of America’s national forests and wildlife habitats around the world.
Author Bio:
Omar Khan is cofounder of Eco-Fabrik, a natural & organic clothing company in Southern California. Eco-Fabrik supports and participates in a number of programs aimed at helping the environment and the wild life. Omar can be reached by email at info@ecofabrik.com or by visiting: Organic Clothing for Sustainable Living
