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Action Alert: Tell Greenpeace: Toilet Paper Consumption from Canada's Ancient Boreal Forests Must End
Greenpeace Canada claims victory while falsely stating clearfelling old forests for paper products is "sustainable" when FSC certified. These photogenic poseurs fail to grasp the ecological necessity of ending consumption of all products made from old forest destruction, and generally reducing consumption of all paper products. Nothing to change as old boreal forests and toxic plantation monocrops will continue to be clearcut to wipe bottoms, albeit falsely certified by various greenwashers including Greenpeace as "well-managed".
By
Forests.org, a project of Ecological Internet
-
August 10, 2009
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1.) Inform Yourself
NOTE: This is a protest, not a petition, sending emails to many real decision makers on matters vital to the Earth.
Caption:
Greenpeace fails to end Canada's ancient boreal forest clearcuts for paper products yet proclaims victory. Apparently fancy forest activists require soft, virgin toilet paper! (link)
Greenpeace has chosen to end its "Kleercut" campaign despite receiving no assurances clearcutting of Canada's ancient boreal forests will end. Instead, according to Greenpeace, such decimation of old forests will be "certified" as "sustainably managed" by FSC. Let Greenpeace know the forest protection movement has moved past claims of sustainable forest management in primary and old growth forests. Old forests must be protected and restored for global ecological sustainability.
Ecological Internet and allies vigorously condemn Greenpeace Canada's greenwash endorsement of continued ancient boreal forest logging to make throw away paper items. We are appalled that Greenpeace supports the continued first time industrial harvest of Canada's ancient boreal forests to access "virgin" fibers to make toilet paper. The Canadian Boreal Forest is North America’s largest primary forest, holding massive amounts of water, threatened wildlife and migratory birds, and containing 25% of the world's remaining intact ancient forests. It is also the largest terrestrial storehouse of carbon on the planet, storing the equivalent of 27 years worth of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenfleece has announced a premature end to its "Kleercut" campaign against "ancient forest crimes" by Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the maker of Kleenex, Scott and Cottonelle brand paper products, on the basis of amazingly flimsy promises. The ONLY things that change are clearcuts of primary boreal forests will now be certified as acceptable by numerous certifiers including FSC, and token amounts of recycled fiber will be used. Making of toilet paper from primary and old growth forests does not end, it will just be "certified" by one of five forest certifiers as being well-managed. There is no such thing, as first time logging of old forests inevitably destroys primary and old growth forests' fully intact ecological function, structure and composition.
Greenpeace's forest campaign is ecologically lacking and socially naïve. They completely fail to understand that all primary and old growth forests are endangered and of high conservation value. Instead they perpetuate the ecologically criminal myth that old forests can and should be industrially logged for the first time in an environmentally acceptable manner. Greenpeace fails to realize real solutions to the forest/paper crisis require shrinking demand, increasing recyclables, and only accessing new fiber from regenerating secondary forests and mixed species, non-toxic, locally supported plantations.
In a world well past its ecological carrying capacity, facing abrupt climate change, and species and ecosystem collapse, we call upon Greenpeace to immediately disclose the ecological science that suggests primary and old growth forests can and should continue to be clearcut to wipe our asses. Greenpeace has missed a marvelous opportunity to make clear that consumption of ancient forests for throw away paper products is unsustainable, unethical and unjust. Their atrociously weak targets will legitimize continued destruction of Canada's ancient forest ecosystems, to largely be replaced by toxic plantation monocultures, to produce throw away paper products for decades.
Call upon Greenpeace to immediately globally cease and desist from negotiating agreements with industry that continue the production of throw away consumer items from Earth's dwindling old forests. Call upon Greenpeace to work for full protection of primary forests, restoration of old growth forests, and dramatic reduction in paper use globally. Further, Greenpeace must immediately disassociate itself from the Forest Stewardship Council's (FSC) ongoing certification of first time industrial logging of primary forests as being "well-managed" while implying sustainability.
No one including Greenpeace can tell us how many tens of millions of hectares of primeval forest ecosystems are being destroyed under FSC's certification label. Until Greenpeace and friends stop greenwashing FSC ancient forest logging, we call upon committed forest protectors to resign their memberships, and to stop using toilet paper from virgin primary forests, no matter how sensitive their behinds. Global ecological sustainability will never be achieved if we cannot make such minor sacrifices. Shame on Greenpeace, who should know better.
Sample Email Sent
Greenpeace must leave FSC
Dear Greenpeace,
I vigorously condemn Greenpeace Canada's greenwash
endorsement of continued ancient boreal forest logging to
make throw away paper items. We are appalled that
Greenpeace supports the continued first time industrial
harvest of Canada's ancient boreal forests to access
"virgin" fibers to make toilet paper, in return for vague
promises of small amounts of certified and recycled fiber
use in the future. Greenpeace's forest campaign is dated
and dangerous, as global ecological sustainability requires
old forest protection and restoration.
I demand that Greenpeace repudiate the agreement with
Kimberly-Clark and not enter into any further negotiations
that greenwash old forest logging. Global ecological
sustainability -- including climate, water and biodiversity
-- depends upon protecting fully primary forests and
ecologically restoring others to old growth status. The
myth of sustainable forest management of old forests is
dead and gone, please stop perpetuating it. Your recent
form email response to this protest completely fails to
substantively defend your actions.
Greenpeace's international forest campaign is ecologically
lacking and socially naïve. Making of toilet paper from
primary and old growth forests does not end under your
recent agreement with Kimberley-Clark, a small percentage
will just be "certified" by one of five forest certifiers
as being "well-managed". There is no such thing, as first
time logging of primary and old growth forests invariably
destroy their fully intact ecological function, structure
and composition. What remains will become tree plantations.
Greenpeace completely fails to understand that all primary
and old growth forests are endangered and of high
conservation value. Instead you perpetuate the ecologically
criminal myth that old forests can and should be
industrially logged for the first time in an
"environmentally beneficial" manner. You fail to realize
real, ecologically sufficient solutions to the forest/paper
crisis require shrinking demand, increasing recyclables,
and only accessing new fiber from regenerating secondary
forests and mixed species, non-toxic, locally supported
plantations.
In a world well past its ecological carrying capacity,
facing abrupt climate change, and species and ecosystem
collapse, we call upon Greenpeace to immediately disclose
the ecological science that suggests primary and old growth
forests can and should continue to be clearcut to wipe our
asses. With this, your latest selling out of primary
forests for illusory FSC "sustainable forest management",
Greenpeace has lost their legitimacy on old forest
protection.
Greenpeace has missed a marvelous opportunity to make clear
that consumption of ancient forests for throw away paper
products is unsustainable, unethical and unjust. Your
recently announced atrociously weak targets will legitimize
continued destruction of Canada's ancient forest
ecosystems, to largely be replaced by toxic plantation
monocultures, to produce throw away paper products for
decades.
I and many others call upon Greenpeace to immediately
globally cease and desist from negotiating agreements with
industry that continue the production of throw away
consumer items from Earth's dwindling old forests. We call
upon Greenpeace to work for full protection of primary
forests, restoration of old growth forests, and dramatic
reduction in paper use globally. You do not speak for me or
much of the rest of the forest movement with your continued
greenwash sell-outs.
Further, Greenpeace must immediately disassociate itself
from the Forest Stewardship Council's (FSC) ongoing
certification of first time industrial logging of primary
forests as being "well-managed" while implying
sustainability. No one including Greenpeace can tell us how
many tens of millions of hectares of primeval forest
ecosystems are being destroyed under FSC's certification
label. Until Greenpeace resigns their membership from FSC,
or works from within to have FSC stop certifying primary
forests, Greenpeace is a legitimate target of protest.
Until Greenpeace and friends stop greenwashing FSC ancient
forest logging, we call upon committed forest protectors to
resign their memberships; and to stop using toilet paper
from virgin primary forests, no matter how sensitive their
behinds. Global ecological sustainability will never be
achieved if we cannot make such minor sacrifices. The times
are changing: ecological science informs us old forests
must be protected and restored, not "sustainably" logged.
Shame on Greenpeace, you should know better.
With grave concern, a former GP supporter,
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