Carbon Karma

High Speed, Low Drag
Conservation

More Bark For Your Buck

Interview With Salil Shetty

Soy You Wanna Be An Environmentalist

Scolel Te Project

Interview With Elsa Esquivel Bazan

TFCA

Most people know that Marines have their own way of doing things.  Hey, they aren’t called “the Few, the Proud” for nothing.  Marines are expected to accomplish more with less support, less equipment, less information, less manpower. 

We have a term in the Marine Corps to describe plans, equipment, and the mentality that allow us to live up to that reputation.  It’s called “high speed, low drag”.  If something is high speed, low drag, it provides the agility and functionality to accomplish the mission without being weighted down by the unnecessary. A high speed, low drag tent packs light and sets up fast, but you’ll have to leave the pillows and inflatable mattress at home. 

So what does high speed, low drag have to do with saving forests? 

Consider that the most recent estimates of tropical deforestation are about 30 million acres per year. That’s a lot of ground to cover, even by Marine standards.

And when the forests fall, they’re taking with them species of insects, birds, and mammals that no one has ever seen.  Plants that might hold the secret to the next big breakthrough in medicine disappear before they are even discovered.  By some estimates, almost a quarter of modern pharmaceuticals come from compounds derived from rainforests.  But that’s not all we lose.  Tropical deforestation also destroys the sustainable livelihoods of forest communities and leaves higher greenhouse gas emissions, shifting weather patterns, depleted soils, and spoiled watersheds.

It’s not that no one’s trying to address these problems. It’s just that the situation isn’t improving fast enough. Despite decades of conservation work, deforestation rates are almost unchanged. Maybe it’s time to bring in the Marines?

Well, like Marines already know, a high speed, low drag plan is the key to a successful mission.  And that’s where we come in.

Tropical Forest Group has a plan. We’re going to take advantage of new developments in UN climate change policy [link to cc/tf article] to prove that tropical forests are worth a lot more standing up and protecting our climate and biodiversity than as a part of your desk, or your dinner.  We’re going to remind our national leaders of the promises they made to protect tropical forests around the world for the many benefits that they provide to us at home. And we’re going to hold them accountable.  High speed.

We’re not going to reinvent the wheel.  TFG will directly support forest conservation projects already operating on the ground—those that are successfully protecting biodiversity, providing sustainable livelihoods for forest communities, and fighting global warming.  Low drag.

These activities are all a part of our strategic plan.  But when it comes down to it, Tropical Forest Group believes that the answer to the world’s most serious ecological problem is you.  Or rather, us.  We all do things every day that contribute to the economic pressures to cut down tropical forests.  We can change some of these activities, but we all still cause greenhouse gas emissions. We can reduce the impact of these by offsetting carbon dioxide emissions through support of projects like Scolel Te.  At Tropical Forest Group we focus on providing you with cool ways to have a positive impact. We’re packing up the tent and leaving the pillow behind.  So please join us, by donating to TFG , telling friends about TFG, emailing the President , or calling the folks who provide you with soy for your lattes . Do something right now that will help the most threatened and important biome on Planet Earth.