Greenpeace is still fighting to keep our forests around the world from being logged for timber and paper pulp.  Although deforestation in the United States has stabilized, as most of the U.S. deforestation took place prior to 1910, forests around the globe are being cut down at alarming rates.

Greenpeace says Amazon Forests Still Being Logged Today

Areas that are of major concern to Greenpeace are eastern Africa and Brazil.  According to the World Resources Institute,  up to 90 percent of West Africa's coastal rain forests have been logged since 1900.  Brazil and Indonesia, which contain the world's two largest surviving regions of rain forest, are rapidly being stripped by logging, fires, and land-clearing for agriculture and cattle-grazing.

Affects of Deforestation

There are many environmental concerns regarding deforestation, including global warming.   Trees are natural consumers of carbon dioxide, and carbon dioxide  is one of the greenhouse gases whose buildup in the atmosphere contributes to global warming. Removal of trees, tree burning and tree decomposition pump into the atmosphere even more carbon dioxide, along with methane, another major greenhouse gas, and all of these factors combined contribute to global warming.

What Can Be Done by Greenpeace

Buying products made from 100% recycled paper, and biodegradable products like recycled seed paper,  is an important part of the solution to ending deforestation.  Greenpeace wants consumers to know they have the power to put pressure on companies that have bad environmental practices by not buying their products.  Supporting companies with zero deforestation policies  sends a message to other companies to embrace zero deforestation policies.

Greenpeace also continues to work with governments around the globe to help them promote more green legislative programs like the Lacey Act, Roadless Rule and Forests For Climate.

Although logging in the United States has stabilized, it is still an important issue in other areas of the world.   Citizens can help support Greenpeace in their efforts to protect global forests by purchasing products made from 100% recycled materials.