La Reserva Forest Foundation

The Bachelor's Name

   Since today is July 21st and I said that I would announce the name of the Bachelor Monkey on July 20th, now is the time to do so.

  The name Rudy, which is short for Rudolph Valentino, was submitted by Mary Blizzard and is the winner. Since I wrote the article in April, the bachelor monkey has moved to the adjacent forest. Mary came hiking in the La Reserva forest this past June with her sister and brother-in-law, Barb and Jim Linder.  We spotted a pair of monkeys a ways off and could see them quite well with our binoculars. I knew it was the bachelor and here he was with a young female. I know her, as well, because she is one of the only monkeys here with yellow  pigmentation on her left foot and leg. As we watched them foraging a few trees apart, and we were smiling all the time at seeing them together, they moved into the same tree together and began to hug. He must be extremely happy to have a partner and they stayed in that embrace until we all turned around and left.  I have spotted them a couple of other times since and he is now a proud “howling” husband. I will try to get a photo of them together and post on the blog, but will definitely keep everyone posted on their progress.

   Thank you Mary, for submitting the name Rudy, for Rudolph Valentino, because of what we witnessed, he is a lover boy. I’m sorry to Kiwi, who submitted the name Wilbur. This is a great name, as well, but since one of my best friends name is Wilber, I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea.

   Please help all of these precious beings to expand and multiply by either donating to the La Reserva Forest Foundation or volunteering your time to help out and.....

                                                            LET'S GET PLANTING!!!

The Natural Balance

   Again, I am compelled to post yet another blog in response to the article entitled, “The Coming Biofuels Disaster” by Joe Brewer (www.truthout.org), July 7, 2007. Mr. Brewer, you have spoken the inspiring truth here, and something that I have intuitively known from the beginning of this biofuel craze.

   Sir Richard Branson donated $2 billion last year to help with global warming. I was extremely optimistic about this until I learned that the funds would be used to finance a money making solution, biofuels. This is not the solution as Mr. Brewer explains. The solution to all of our global “problems” (war, global warming, climate change, poverty, etc. etc. etc.) is BALANCE.

   Our collective scale has been out of whack for centuries. Developed nations, and the individuals living in them, are consuming and spewing out unimaginable amounts of resources and filth, respectively, while we in the developing countries suffer from a shortage of quality foods, potable water, poverty, unemployment and extreme inequity in the distribution of wealth. The United States alone consumes over 30 % of the worlds natural resources.

    I propose a solution, the only one that makes sense, although some will disagree. We will never solve anything by attacking and/or judging those who are at the upper end of consumption. This only causes more separation between us, the human race. It is necessary to create an international law mandating that those who consume vast amounts of resources MUST pay a carbon offset tax to BALANCE what they are using, making them carbon neutral, or better yet, carbon negative. These funds would then be given to us in the developing world to restore the tropical forests worldwide. Envision this, the people in the United States having 2 SUV’s per family, air conditioning, boats, motorcycles, not recycling, yet paying us for the privilege to live this type of lifestyle. This will give work to all of us in the Third world, and extremely rewarding work at that. We will be producing potable water, oxygen, and absorbing their carbon emissions to help with the problem of global warming for the entire world.

   How this can be done on a worldwide scale will take a better, more intelligent person that me, but it CAN be done. Please, let’s get this plan started before it is too late. We can help the suffering of millions in the developing nations and the people paying for it will be the ones who are consuming and causing the majority of the inequities and problems.

   Balance the natural scales and 

                                                        LET’S GET PLANTING!!!

The Price of Profit

    I’m driven to write this article as a response to a conversation I had with a neighbor/friend recently. So many times I have urged her to plant trees on parts of her farm to help connect small forest islands within and around it. During our conversation she asked if I knew of one certain species of tree. She had read that this particular tree gives off more oxygen and absorbs more CO2 than any other and if one were to plant a full hectare of them, it might pay off, since that person could be paid “good money” in carbon offset payments.

   I use my friend, who I care very much for, only as an example of the multitude of times we run across this mentality in the course of our work. It is understandable, considering humanities conditioning in recent (2000 years +) history, but money is only paper with printing on it. It is useful for buying the things we need through it, but our intention is true wealth. There will always be more money printed, and believe me, there is as much money in the world as will ever be needed.

   Planting one, or even two, species of trees is what we call “tree farming” here at La Reserva. It is a monoculture for PROFIT, because this is the reason they are planted, whether it is for future harvest or carbon sequestering. With this type of activity there is a complete absence of synthesis. All living things depend on a variety of qualities in their lives. They require a varied diet to receive all of their nutrients, as well as varied environments to live in comfort and safety, i.e. a warm shelter in the cold, a fresh, cool environment when hot, trees for protection from torrential rain and a strong barrier (trees again?) to protect them from strong winds. Tree farming does not provide the varied natural habitat for flora and fauna to survive.  How can we ignore the needs of the rest of life on Earth?

   The price of profit is a loss of our freedom and an ignorance of TRUTH. I see TRUTH, which resides within each and every one of us, every day. Surely people must tire of hearing me preach it, yet they never show it. Everyone is always polite, and in agreement with the words, but their actions sometimes show they don’t KNOW.

TRUTHS

•    Now is the time in our history to change our way of thinking about what we do in the world. To do things as stewards of our Earth, for the good of all, not just what will reap personally.
•    By caring and providing unselfishly for all life here, including our living Mother Earth, we shall be cared for. We will all live in abundance for all eternity, here.
•    Sharing and working together, EVEN WITH OUR ENEMIES, to build a beautiful paradise here on our home, Earth. This is the greatest and most powerful road to abundance and good fortune. Forget war, forget our differences and let’s concentrate on our inner similarities.

    The moment we, as a race, forget what is in everything for us personally, we will see such an enormous, positive change in our collective consciousness that we will never return to this outdated way of thinking.

    Recently the U.S. congress approved a $120 billion dollar budget to finance the war in Iraq. With only $6 billion of this “money” we could finance the planting of 20 million hectares of trees around the world, with a minimum of 80 species per hectare, allowing for the absorption of 1 billion tons of CO2 per year and in the process provide habitat and food for the myriad creatures dependant upon them. One fifth of humanity is also dependant on forests for some part of their livelihoods.

   This past year there have been various scandals here in Costa Rica involving our government and private conservation organizations taking funds from foreign governments and mishandling them, in the name of PROFIT. Rather than depositing the funds in an endowment account they deposited them in a high interest earning account, knowing the risks involved, and the bank went belly up. People!! We all lose in this kind of situation. The forests lose for loss of care, in turn the animals, on down the line to the very highest life (us) to the lowliest one celled life, in the name of PROFIT.

   Here, we proclaim, that the La Reserva Forest Foundation will ALWAYS care first for the well being of our Earth and all her inhabitants. We see our reward every day here in the abundant richness of life surrounding our headquarters and within our regenerated and primary forests.

   Mankind is the only species preventing nature from restoration. If left to her own devices she will regenerate within years here in the tropics and with our help in planting trees we can speed up the process. Can we try this alternative way of thinking, for just a while, and see if there is any TRUTH to it?

   Join with us and,

                                                  LET’S GET PLANTING, NOW!!!