EI PRESS/SOCIAL MEDIA RELEASE and FACEBOOK ALERT!

Protest Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network’s Censoring of Facebook 
Criticism of Their Support for Primary Forest Logging

Genuine and growing concern with their ongoing, publicly undefended support for 
Forest Stewardship Council “certified” primary forest logging – destroying an 
area two times the size of Texas – deleted, blocked and reported to Facebook as 
terms of use violations

March 22, 2010
>From Earth's Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet (EI)
http://www.facebook.com/ecointernet

Greenpeace US and International, as well as Rainforest Action Network, are 
censoring comments of concern regarding their support for “sustainable forest 
management” of old forests including primary rainforests on Facebook and their 
blogs. Ecological Internet has been at the vanguard of working to protect and 
restore primary and old growth forests globally by ending their industrial 
logging and other developments. Unfortunately this has required campaigning to 
confront Greenpeace[1] and Rainforest Action Network[2] – two of the strongest 
supporters of continued primary forest logging. 

“As Greenpeace condemns censorship by Nestle[3]  of a YouTube video showing 
their use of oil palm at the expense of orangutans, and RAN blasts Facebook 
censorship of its use of tar sands financier RBC Bank’s logo, both groups are 
systematically removing criticism of their support for first time industrial 
primary forest logging from their facebook pages and blogs. To who are these 
groups accountable,” asks Dr. Glen Barry? “For years these groups have 
inconsistently promoted logging primary forests – and have gotten away with 
ignoring genuine widespread concern that such old forests are key to solving 
the biodiversity and climate change crises.”

Global ecological sustainability depends upon a consistent, ecologically 
credible position on protecting old forests. Please visit and become temporary 
‘fans’ of the following Greenpeace (GP) and Rainforest Action Network (RAN) 
facebook and blog sites, demanding the censorship end, that they please resign 
from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) immediately, and commit to ending 
industrial old forest logging. Please be polite yet pointed that further 
censoring, stonewalling and vilification is unacceptable.

RAN Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rainforestactionnetwork
RAN Blog: http://understory.ran.org/
Greenpeace US Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/greenpeaceusa
Greenpeace International Facebook: 
http://www.facebook.com/greenpeace.international
Please fan and post copies with EI at: http://www.facebook.com/ecointernet

You may choose to mention that you are part of Ecological Internet’s large 
global network of forest protectors demanding that RAN and GP please state 
exactly how their support for FSC certified first time industrial logging of 
500 year old trees in millions of years old primary forests – over an area two 
times the size of Texas – is forest protection in any real meaningful sense? If 
RAN and Greenpeace can target others for damaging the environment, then clearly 
their own involvement in such massive and unexplained logging of ancient 
forests is worthy of a campaign and deserves a reasoned response.

MORE

In most countries it is impossible to suggest primary and old growth forest 
logging end and development be based upon standing old forests, as the response 
is they are to be “sustainably” logged. Often it is pointed out even “radical” 
NGOs like Greenpeace and the Rainforest Action Network support first time 
industrial logging of primary and old growth forests. Indeed, this greenwash – 
which is totally contrary to ecological science – provides critical cover for a 
variety of schemes to log and develop plantations in dwindling primary 
rainforests. Internationally, forest carbon efforts – such as Reduced Emissions 
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) – build upon the falsehood that 
logging primary forests, even establishing plantations where they once stood, 
is a desirable outcome. 

In light of current and emerging ecosystem, biodiversity and climate science; 
as well as evident abrupt climate change, water scarcity and the ongoing 
biodiversity extinction crises, it is clear that FSC certification for primary 
and old-growth logging – except under specific circumstances such as small 
scale community eco-forestry practiced by local peoples – is one of the primary 
threats to old forests. This is particularly true when many other certification 
schemes and business as usual industrial rainforest logging make competing 
claims of sustainability, confusing consumers regarding the environmental 
acceptability of a product – primary forest timbers – that should be banned. It 
is becoming abundantly clear that ending industrial diminishment and working 
for the full protection and restoration of old forests are keystone responses 
to the climate change, biodiversity, ecosystem, water and poverty crises. 

You can still TAKE ACTION on this matter regarding RAN’s support for old forest 
logging at:
http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=ran_ancient_forest_logging
 

[1] Action Alert: Tell Greenpeace: Toilet Paper Consumption from Canada's 
Ancient Boreal Forests Must End 
http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=gp_ancient_forests 

[2]  Action Alert: Let Rainforest Action Network Know Global Ecological 
Sustainability Depends Upon Ending Old Forest Logging 
http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=ran_ancient_forest_logging

[3] A new world?: Social media protest against Nestle may have longstanding 
ramifications
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0320-hance_socialmedia.html

DISCUSS RELEASE:
http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/

---
Please support Ecological Internet to protect and restore old
forests at http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/donate/

You are subscribed to ecological_internet as [email protected].

Before unsubscribing, please consider modifying your list profile at:
http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/subscribe/[email protected]

To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [email protected]
Or click here:
http://email.ecoearth.info:81/u?id=84041H&n=T&c=F&l=ecological_internet

To subscribe visit:
http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/subscribe/


---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]

Reply via email to