Rent the Rain Forests
Virtual Chaos
A Work In Progress
Copyright 1995-97 VirtualChaos.Org.
All Rights Reserved. Void where Prohibited.
Our Rain Forest Destruction Problem
The planet's rainforests have been suffering from continued
development and logging projects. These rainforests are vital to the global ecosystem
as they help break down carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen and convert water into
water vapor, serving as a starting point for much of the world's circulation of water.
The continued development and destruction of these rainforests puts our entire
planet's ecosystem at risk. We find this to be unacceptable (Yes, I am fond of
understatements).
The problem is that people are making money by selling off the forests and
breaking them down into consumable goods. Where there is money to be
made, there will be people there trying to make it.
Quite frankly, nobody's
just going to stop cutting down the forests because they should. In the history
of economics, it is the extremely rare case where business does what's right
when it cuts into their bottom line. Therefore, we need to address the cause of
the problem - people make money by selling the forests to businesses.
A Win-Win Solution
A global cooperative effort of people investing in...
Instead of selling the land to lumber companies and developers, we, as a group, can
rent the land or even just buy it. What will this do?
- Give the
land-owners some money immediately for the first months rent.
- Provide the land-owners
with a steady income stream from the rental.
- They will make more by renting it over time than they would from a one time payment.
- The land will maintain it's value since the forests will remain on it, whereas the
land would be worth much less after deforestation.
- Research organizations would have stable access to the forests, and be able to
study the ecosystems and what they have to offer scientifically.
- People will be able to see the continued existence of the forests as a testimony
to their work and effort. You can "Leave your mark on the World."
Although this would work as a stop-gap measure, a long term solution would have
to be found. [Unless we actually bought the land and created "World Nature Parks"].
By subsidising the cateloging of species, and basic R&D, the useful compounds might
then be used to build a chemical and pharmacudical infrastructure for the region.
This would; - Produce jobs for the locals in a sustainable economy,
- Create useful compounds that would otherwise go undiscovered, and
- Insure the continued existance of the rainforest by making it worth
more intact.
We do have a viable option, as long as we don't wait too long to excercize it...
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