“For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.” – Martin Luther
I still remember, quotes by Martin Luther in the beginning one of my lecture in university. He was right. Trees or forest are invaluable for human being. Forest gives us live. It gives us water, oxygen, fuel, and food. Can you imagine, if our world without forest? There will be no life, like what Stang said.
“The death of the forest is the end of our life.” – Dorothy Stang
In my country, Indonesia has the world’s third largest area of tropical forest and globally significant biodiversity. We have more than 4000 woody tree species. Forest in Indonesia covers about 120 million hectare or about 60 percent of Indonesia’s total land territory, mostly in the outer islands of Sumatra (18.77 percent of total forest cover), Kalimantan (31.99 percent), Sulawesi (9.52 percent) and Papua (30.99 percent) (Sardjono, 2004). Along with that area, Indonesia’s forest can store more than 60 gigatons (billion tons) carbon.
“Sadly, it's much easier to create a desert than a forest.” – James Lovelock
Unfortunately, in recent years, Indonesia has been losing up to 2 million hectares annually (an area larger than Singapore!).
It happens mainly due to illegal cutting and land conversion fueled by excess processing capacity and a lack of effective management and law enforcement. Can you imagine? If we cannot slow down deforestation rate, we will lose all of our forest easily. And nowadays, losing up forest is getting easier with the latest cutting technology. But, someday this technology become useless like Susan George said.
“If you cut down a forest, it doesn't matter how many sawmills you have if there are no more trees.” – Susan George
Now, how we can effectively contribute to slow down deforestation rate? Is it easy?
YES! Even you and me can start from now… We just cannot blame mismanagement by government….Yet we also cannot blame greedy tree processed corporation. … It’s our entire job…. Together!
Don’t talk only and do nothing! These are what you and I can do…
Fertilize your garden, plant trees 🙂
Optimize your space in home and office with trees
Reuse and recycle your paperwork
Estimate paper consumption, make a limit
Seek and join a green movement club
Target yourself in reducing paper use
Share your commitment to make a green living at home and office
planting a tree
Not use paper for short term document
Ask others to follow your green movement using social media
Try to be a green movement agent in your home and office
Use public transport
Recycle your waste; somehow you can use it more and more
Educate young people to love doing green living
Arrange family and officemate sharing session to discuss green living tips
Train your family and colleagues to do green living
Yell out loudly in media to make a green living
Organize your waste, easier way to recycle
Utilize your cotton bag for groceries bag
Rearrange your energy consumption, do not waste it.
recycling paper at my office
Substitute hard copy with soft copy document
Eager your colleagues to use own-tumbler instead of plastic and Styrofoam glass
Rather than throwing away disposable things, be creative to use it often
Vary your reward for your children after doing green living
Imitate other green action into your community
Celebrate moment and progress of your green living
Elaborate with other groups and communities to make a massive green movement
Let’s do it together, you & me! (^_^)
Galih Nugroho's Blog 