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!!!
