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From: mpd@anomaly.sbs.com (Michael P. Deignan)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,soc.misc,misc.misc
Subject: Re: Rain Forest Destruction
Message-ID: <1991Jun03.221120.28743@anomaly.sbs.com>
Date: 3 Jun 91 22:11:20 GMT
References: <1991Jun1.213133.2781@colorado.edu>
Organization: Small Business Systems, Inc., Esmond, RI  02917
Lines: 73

william@alumni.colorado.edu (William Hughes) writes:

>     Do you realize that 50 acres of rain forest are being
>destroyed every minute? That's 26,280,000 acres each year.  At
>this rate, scientists  calculate that by the year 2000, there
>will be little or no rain forests left in the world. This is a
>major problem. 

So?

>because the rain forests contain more than 50% of
>the world's animal species. Did you know that the rain forest
>loses one species per day?

Ever hear of Darwin?

>Many of these species may be the answer to
>diseases such as AIDS and cancer.

So might the dinosaurs. Coorelation study references, please?

>Furthermore, the rain forest
>provides clean air to help clean up our already polluted
>atmosphere. This is also a major problem, because the rain
>forest helps control the world's climate.

No, the rain forest provides only a portion of this control. The earth's
oceans provide far more. So, if you're really interested in saving the
earth, work to stop ocean dumping instead.

...
>     This problem is being caused by multilateral development 
>banks (MDB's) who loan 22 billion dollars to third world
>development every year.  Other companies which exacerbate the
>situation are private bank such as Citicorp, Wells Fargo, and
>the Bank of America who loan over 3 times what the MDB's loan.
>Coca-cola is also part of the problem.

Oh, yes, let's not forget to throw in that "evil, huge, uncaring multinational
corporation" claim too...

>Besides the land turns to desert after 1 - 10 years.i

Yeah, the deserts in the northeast are one prime example of how all this
buildup really hurts the earth.

>Also, there
>are many large-scale projects that use large areas of land, but
>employ few people.

So, I guess we should just disallow farming, huh?

>     However, there are solutions:  programs that let you but
>acreage of rain forest - and nobody can legally use that land
>for any purpose, except you. One such program is available
>through the Rain Forest Foundation. You can purchase l acre for
>$100, or one-half acre for $58. You will receive a signed
>Certificate of Acknowledgement, and a map pinpointing your acre
>of rain forest, plus a Rain Forest Foundation T-shirt. For
>details, call toll free 1-800-542-1800 or write The Rain Forest
>Foundation, P.O. Box 757, Plainville, Connecticut 06062.

Are these certificates recognized deeds by the respective governments
of the countries in question?

Or, should I be saying: Money grab alert! Money grab alert!

MD
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